Don’t make life harder than it should be

Posted byoakhillcrossvillePosted inUncategorized
Good morning everyone,
 
Our theme for this month: “Deep Discipleship”
 
Our Bible verse for today: “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:30 (CSB)
 
Our thought for today: “Don’t make life harder than it should be”
 
Does your way of living sometimes feel burdensome? Do you find yourself sighing a lot and feeling like you have to lean into your days, push through them, and endure them? Do you really think that’s the life Jesus wants for you?
 
In his wonderful devotional book “A Year of Slowing Down: Daily Devotionals for Unhurried Living,” Alan Fadling notes, “There are ways of living that are hard on people. Workaholism and addictive ways diminish us rather than increasing our joy. There are ways of practicing religion that makes people’s lives harder. The Pharisees had a way of making the Jewish law burdensome rather than life-giving.”
 
For many Christians, the practice of their faith seems to be an afterthought at best and makes little real difference in the quality of their lives. For others it is so legalistic and restrictive that it becomes like a heavy old coat they wear everywhere they go. Those folks are essentially modern-day Pharisees.
 
But that is not the life Jesus wants us to have and therefore it’s not the life He leads us to. In John 10:10 He declared, “I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.” In John 14:27 He promised us, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you.”  And in John 15:11 He said, “I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.”
 
Life with Jesus brings freedom and vitality and joy. That’s what He meant to convey in Matthew 11:28-30 where He invites us to take His yoke upon us and to walk with Him through life – side-by-side, Him and us, walking through life together. In that passage He paints a picture of a team of oxen walking through a field yoked together. The bigger lead ox carries most of the load and provides all the direction. The younger follower ox walks alongside sharing the load and following the direction of the lead ox. In this parable Jesus was saying, “Let Me be your lead ox. Stay yoked to Me and we will do this together. I will carry most of the load and I will provide all the direction. You just stay with Me and we will do this together.”
 
Don’t make life harder on yourself than it needs to be. Come alongside Jesus. Stay close to Him. You will find that His yoke is easy and the burden suddenly becomes much lighter.
 
God bless,
Pastor Jim   
 
(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville
 
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