Matthew 11:28
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Many years ago, I was working with a man as we were putting in the landscaping at our church. He told me to take the rototiller and plow the ground so that we could plant the grass seed. I started the rototiller and started plowing the ground when he came to me and asked me if I wanted some advice on how to make the work easier. He saw me trying to work with the rototiller, but really the rototiller was working me. He said to me, “You can either have the rototiller work for you or you can let it work you.” He then proceeded to show me how to properly use the rototiller and let it do the work. When I copied how to work the rototiller it made the work much easier.
Many Christians are trying to serve the LORD the same way that I was trying to work the rototiller. I put so much effort into that rototiller that I was working against what it was made to do. Many Christians have put too much pressure on themselves as if they have to do the LORD’s work when in reality they are burdening themselves down. That’s why God said to come unto Him. He is saying that you can try to do the LORD’s work by yourself or you can allow the LORD to do His own work. There are some lessons we need to apply to our Christian life so that we can find rest for our souls.
First, Christ can do the work better than you. You may mean well with all that you are trying to do, but you must realize that Christ knows how to do His work better. You need to stop putting the pressure on yourself to make things happen in the LORD’s work. You can’t change a person’s heart, only Christ can do that. You can’t grow a church or a Sunday school class, that is the area of Christ. He can do the work better than you.
Second, your job is to obey. Your job is to simply get in the yoke with Christ. It is His job to do the work, but you are to be in the yoke with Him. In other words, you are to simply go tell people how to be saved, but it is His job to save their soul. You can’t bring the conviction, but you can deliver the Gospel. My friend, stop troubling your soul because you didn’t get a result. That result is completely up to Christ. He is the One Who gives the increase. Your job is to simply teach the Sunday school class, invite children to ride the bus, preach the sermon or share the Gospel with others. It is His job to give the result.
Third, He will carry the load for how fast His work is to be done. When I started letting the rototiller do the work, it seemed to get the work accomplished much faster and with less effort. This is exactly what these verses are teaching. When you join Christ in His yoke, you both are working together. You do your part and He does His, and the work of the LORD is accomplished much better and with less effort.
You have a choice, you can either do it all yourself or you can join in Christ’s yoke and let Him help you with His work. If you will stop worrying about the results and just obey, you will find the rest in the Christian life for which you are looking. It is then you will discover the joy in the Christian life. When you focus your efforts on obedience and not results, then the pressure is lifted off your soul and the enjoyment in serving Christ is discovered.