Decluttering Your Soul
"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."—Matt. 11:28-30
Last year, like many, I began 2021 with the goal to declutter my house. What surprised me was how much lighter I felt. Not that I lost weight, but in getting rid of excess or unwanted things, I felt like I shed a heavy burden. Though it was painful to part with some of these things, I did not realize what unnecessary loads I was lugging around.
How often do we carry around spiritual loads as well? In His day, Jesus denounced the Pharisees, who were guilty of laying heavy burdens across the shoulders of the people in the form of rules and regulations (Matt. 23:4). In the struggle of keeping up these many laws, many would feel weary and heavy laden.
As I studied today’s passage, I realized I am both the Pharisee that burdens others (including myself!) as well as the heavy-laden. My tendency is to make my own rules and then try to keep them, thinking this will gain me the prize I’m after. Though I know I am saved by grace, I still tend to find my identity through my works.
So when I read Jesus’ invitation in these verses, it truly is an amazing one. However, it’s important to note what He does not promise. He does not promise escape from our troubles or an easy life.
What He does promise is a different yoke. A yoke is a wooden beam that linked two animals together to carry a heavy load. It’s a tool of work! By distributing the weight more evenly across the beam, the team can more easily pull their burdens as they labor together.
So yes, what He is promising is work—but this is work that He assigns us. “Take my yoke upon you.” It is the work that He thinks is most important—and that may not be what I think it is. He is not offering to help me carry my heavy burdens. He wants to exchange that yoke altogether. It is a picture of submissive discipleship. I shed my yoke for His.
As believers, we are chosen by Him (see v. 27, right before this passage). But will we come to Him and take His offer? Or will we, though we be saved, insist on “doing the Christian life” our own way? Will we persist in defining our own terms of discipleship? Will we, in our sincere desire to love Him well, load ourselves with burdens He never intended us to carry?
As I begin this new year, it is time to continue my decluttering efforts, but this time it is in the area of my own soul.
Bad attitudes of pridefulness
Fears of what people think
Unconfessed sin that weighs me down
Guilt for forgiven sin that I continue to carry
Hurts I have harbored in my heart that lead to bitterness
Cynicism and doubt as I look at the world around me
All these are not fitting for a disciple of Christ to carry. If I desire to walk in a manner worthy of my calling (Eph. 4:1), I need to come to Him. Come humbly. Come submissively. Come obediently.
This also means laying aside my self-made rules, shedding my sinful attitudes, putting off the old.
Then I need to take on His yoke. Accept the call. Own it. Put on His yoke. Though it be a burden, it is a light one—not heavy like the one I have created for myself.
When we are rightly related to the King, we will have real, true, and lasting rest despite the labors of this life. This is better than a catnap or even a week-long vacation. This is deep soul rest in the midst of life’s difficult challenges.
This requires belief. It requires faith. It requires trust. It means that I need to get off my own throne and let Him be the King that He is.
Unless we do, this promise will not take effect. We will always be watching from the outside, wishing, but never experiencing.
As we begin this new year, will you also declutter your soul from the heavy things that He does not intend you to carry?
Application:
What are some burdens from the list above that you are carrying today?
What keeps you from laying them down?
What would it mean for you to take on Jesus’ yoke? What would that look like?
