Day 3: Learn from Me
“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:29-30).
We come before Your throne our God with recognition and gratitude that You are our strength— I love You, Lord, my strength (Psalm 18:1)— and with acknowledgment that we need Your continued help: Lord, be gracious to us; we long for You. Be our strength every morning... (Isaiah 33:2). We struggle mightily under the weight of this world, and we long for rest.
We come to You with burdens of worry and anxiety, glad for Your promises, Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken (Psalm 55:22), and, Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).
We come to You with burdens of grief, sadness, and sorrow, because You have told us, The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18), and, The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down (Psalm 145:14).
We come to you with burdens of sin and guilt, and with the weight of our strongholds, asking You to help us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnare us, trusting You to help us run with endurance the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1 - NKJV); believing that those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint (Isaiah 40:31).
We come to You with burdens arising from this world's "usage"— its methods and conventions that we subscribe to wittingly or unwittingly— the idols that are part of the systems and structures of our life. We come to You longing to shake off the yoke of the idol-bearing beasts of burdens who stoop and bow down together; unable to rescue the burden, [who] themselves go off into captivity (Isaiah 46:1, 2). We come seeking relief from the images that are carried about...burdensome, a burden for the weary (Isaiah 46:1). We come, drawn by Your offer: Take My yoke upon you... (Matthew 11:30).
Lord, with all our cares, we come, weary and burdened, laboring and heavy-laden. And You offer to exchange the heavy burdens that cause us to stumble and fall, with Your easy yoke and Your light burden. You open the door to rest with Your invitation "Learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart" (Matthew 11:28-30). Teach us, O Savior! We lay down our heavy yokes before You. Give us rest for our souls today.
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