Come to Me

all you (independents/confidents-you-know-what’s-best) who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me (about dependency), for I am gentle and humble in heart (and will retrain you to be also), and you will find rest for your souls (as dependents).  My yoke is easy and my burden is light.

So, HOW do I take on Jesus’ yoke?

First I need to be self-aware enough to recognize the extent of my OWN yoke — the idols (addictions) that weigh me down, make my life unnecessarily burdensome, stressful, miserable.  Only the self-aware and self-accepting are even able to SEE the problem, SEE they have been living in denial of their unhappiness, and are humble enough to admit their multiple addictions are the yoke they carry around with them, all day every day.

How do I get rid of my own yoke?  CONFESS.  But I can’t confess what I don’t see.  Self-awareness is crucial.  But self-awareness is impossible apart from the convicting work of the Holy Spirit.

How can I replace my yoke with Jesus’ yoke?  Self-acceptance is admitting, accepting, even enjoying, the extent of my addictions, my dysfunctional self, evidencing my pathetic need of a Savior and His replacement yoke.  Jesus’ yoke/worthiness is ENOUGH for the self-accepting.  But the humility required for self-acceptance is impossible, apart from the convicting work of the Spirit.  Only the humble find Jesus’ yoke/worthiness to be ENOUGH.  They say “so-what?” to achievement addictions of the independent/proud/confident-I-know-best who want something MORE — an additional yoke of our own.  Fools we are.  We could have the easy, feathery-light yoke of Jesus, but our addictions (idols) lead us astray.  To way-lesser.

How can a believer become yet-more self-aware and yet-more self-accepting?  I can only tell you how Jesus has worked in MY life over the past five years.  He’s used a free e-book — not written by me.  If you lemme know, I’ll send it to you, with a copy of my notes about how He’s led me to use the book.  I ain’t where I hope to be someday, but I ain’t where I usedtabe.

—Dave McCarty, GospelFriendships