We’re going to begin with a poem that I’m sure you have either heard or heard of it. It’s Footprints In the Sand by Mary Stevenson
“After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand….
I noticed that at many times along the path of life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
there was only one set of footprints….
This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it….
He whispered, My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you.”
Each time I read this poem, I am encouraged because I know that my Heavenly Father is never far away. He’s always near. Always.
As a child growing up in a little country church in Tennessee, I often heard the older folks talk indirectly about certain verses over and over again because of what they meant to them over a lifetime of living. Turn with me to Matthew 11 and we’re going to read verses 28, 29 and 30.
(28) Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
(29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
(30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)
Each time I read this promise, I’m filled with encouragement and reassurance. I want you to notice something. In Jesus uses the word “rest” twice In these three verses. They are the same word in the Greek. After looking at them, I decided to pull up the Merriam-Webster dictionary on my iPhone and two definitions caught my eye.
The first was “peace of mind.”
As our nation and world battle COVID-19, and as we continually hear about the negative news about the infections and the virus-related deaths, our minds need this rest, this peace, this quietness, more than ever. And why is this?
When our minds are inflamed – when they are experiencing an escalation of intense emotions like fear or anger – we cannot hear what 1 Kings 19:12 calls the Spirit’s “still small voice.” All of the “emotional noise” will drown out any chance we have to hear the calming voice of the spirit on the inside of us and the instructions that is waiting for us.
I want peace of mind. What about you? But, I paused when I read the second definition.
The dictionary said a “rest” was “something used for support.” Now let me tell you what my eyes saw when I read this. My eyes read someone used for support. Do you want to hazard a guess as to who that someone is? It’s Jesus!
As I thought about this definition, several examples came to mind.
For example, you have a woman in the hospital who is in a weakened state after a surgery or illness. She will need the assistance of a nurse to get her out of bed to start her rehabilitation. Now you and I know that the nurse doesn’t enter the room and tell the woman to get up, it’s time for rehab. No. She goes over to the woman’s bed, helps her sit up and then helps her get out of the bed. Once she is on her feet, the nurse lets the woman use her as support as they walk down the hallway.
This is what Stevenson is describing in her poem. When some people, including Christians, experience troubling times, they are sometimes so mentally and emotionally drained that just doing routine things like getting out of bed or cooking can be a struggle. Those are the times that our loving Heavenly Father steps in and carries us. Those are the times when He whispers “Peace. Be still.” Now here’s the key: we must hear Him and obey Him.
Another image I see in someone used for support will be very familiar to most of us. When our children were small, wherever they were frightened or hurt themselves, they would run to us and crawl into our laps. We would wrap our arms around them, pull them close and say “Don’t be scared. It’ll be all right.” And they believed us. Now I’m going to say that again. And they believed us!
Ladies and gentlemen, Jesus wants us to know that everything is going to be all right. We are going to come out on the other side of this battle with COVID-19 stronger, and I believe, with a deeper love and appreciation for what Jesus did for us on the cross.
The verse in Matthew 11 the older folks at my childhood church alluded to was verse 28. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Remember Stevenson said during her worst times she saw only one set of footprints and the Lord said “It was then that I carried you.” Have you ever gone on a long walk with a child? What often happened on the way back home? The child got tired. So, you’d pick him up and carry him. I have seen people do this with small dogs which simply amazes me. But that’s a story for another day.
Now here’s My point: When our children needed relief from whatever was troubling them, they came to us and we gave them that relief. Even if that meant picking them up, holding them, or carrying them. That’s what parents do. When we go to Him, our Heavenly Father does the same for us.
Now that I’m older with hindsight, I understand why this verse meant so much to the older folks at church. They had grown up during a time when life for African Americans was difficult, and at times, unpleasant. Many did not graduate from high school and most were cooks, janitors, maids, farm hands, etc. But their jobs were not who they were. Their jobs were what they did.
And throughout their lives, they clung to Jesus’ promise to give them rest when they were weary or felt overwhelmed. It was their anchor. It was the “word from the Lord” that kept them going.
Let’s go back to verse 28.
The word labour (G2872) describes what so many in the Church are feeling right now because of the constant news about COVID-19. They are feeling mentally and, in some cases, physically “worn out, tired, and fatigued.” But Jesus says ”Come to Me.”
We must to go to Jesus. He must be “option #1.” And how do we do this? We go to Jesus when we pray. We go to Jesus when we declare His promises in our lives. We go to Jesus when we praise and worship Him. We go to Jesus when we sit quietly in His presence. Remember what Jesus said in John 14:27 about his peace?
“Peace I leave with you, my peace give I unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
The peace that Jesus gives us is not determined by the circumstances we face. The peace that Jesus gives is not determined by what we see in the news or read in the news. The peace that Jesus gives is “not of this world.” Let that sink in ladies and gentlemen. And the only way we will be able to access that peace is through Jesus.
The phrase heavy-laden (G5412) means to be “overloaded or to carry a heavy burden.” Does this not describe how most people are feeling right now? And perhaps some you are feeling this way too. But Jesus says “Come to Me.”
In the last part of the verse, Jesus gives us THE reason to come to Him – “and I will give you rest.” Remember Merriam-Webster’s definition – something used for support? If we come to Him, Jesus says He will give us rest, He will be our support during this battle with COVID-19.
What is the rest that Jesus gives?
Remember I said earlier that, in the Greek, the two times the word rest (G373) was used it was the same? It means “to cease, to give rest, to give quietness, to recreate or to refresh.”
During this time when so many are becoming mentally and physically worn out, Jesus says “Come to Me and receive the peace and quietness that your soul (mind) needs. Come to Me and your soul (mind) will be refreshed and rejuvenated.” If there was ever a time when we needed to “Go to Jesus,” that time is now.
Now we need to understand the importance of the yoke.
(29) Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
(30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
I have read these verses many times without truly grasping the instructions Jesus is giving to us.
The word yoke (G2218) means “to bind.” A yoke was a wooden frame placed on the backs of oxen to make them pull in tandem – to yoke them together. Many times a younger ox was yoked to an older more experienced ox so he could learn WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO DO IT.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is so very important because of what Jesus says next: “and learn of Me.” Jesus says “I am the elder ox and you are still wet behind the ears. Come to Me and yoke yourself to Me. Let Me to teach you how to live as a son and daughter of God. Learn from Me!” Isn’t that a powerful image?
Do you remember when you started a new job and someone was assigned to mentor you? The person showed you how to do the job the way the company wanted the job done, even though you may have years of experience doing the same job at another company.
Now follow me closely.
When we were born again, in this example, we “left our old spiritual company and joined a new spiritual company.” What worked in the old company doesn’t work in the new one. We have to learn what works in our new company – the kingdom of God – in order to be successful. And Jesus says, “Come to Me and submit yourself to My training and My mentoring and you will learn the ways of the new company.”
Now listen to me ladies and gentlemen. I want you to really hear what Jesus is saying. “If you will let Me train you and mentor you, I will show you how to do EVERYTHING THAT I DID when I was on earth!” Oh! That is so powerful! Jesus says “If you will let Me train you and mentor you, I will show you how to do EVERYTHING THAT I DID when I was on earth!”
I hope you are grasping the significance of what Jesus is saying!
Then Jesus tells us what He needs from us in order for Him to be “the elder ox.” We need to be “meek and lowly in heart.” In other words, we must be willing to be taught His ways, and if we are willing to be taught, He says we “will find (obtain) rest unto our souls.”
Rest is waiting for us.
If we are willing to let Jesus teach us His way, we will obtain that which is already waiting for us – rest for our souls, our minds. What a comfort! Jesus says “Do you want peace of mind? Come to Me. Do you want to sleep at night? Come to Me. Let Me teach you My ways and you shall have them.”
Jesus says that when we are yoked to Him, when we are “plowing in tandem with Him,” our lives will not be burdened down with the things life throws at us. He says His burden is light.
Often the burden the ox had to bear was so heavy that he would stumble under its weight. But Jesus says when we are yoked to Him, we will never stumble or fall because it’s His burden.
Jesus’ burden is light.
Ladies and gentlemen, please pay close attention to what I’m about to say and we’re winding down. When we are yoked to Jesus our burden becomes His burden. Jesus says His burden is light. His burden is easy. When we purposefully yoke ourselves to Jesus, our elder brother and the elder ox, our burden will be easy!
As our nation and the world battle COVID-19, remember Jesus encourages us to latch on to Him and to follow His footsteps. We know that this situation did not catch God by surprise. We know that He has a plan to get us through it. He knows exactly what we need to keep us from being overwhelmed by what we hear and by what we see.
But we have to “Come to Jesus.” So I encourage you, ladies and gentlemen, go to Jesus from this day forward. Let Him take your burden. Rest in Him. He will see you through all of this. That’s His promise to you and to me! He is God and the Bible says God cannot lie! Let’s give Him some praise!
