Me: Isn’t that swan beautiful!
Prodigal: Yes, but actually I am jealous of her beauty. I mean nobody ever comments on the looks of a pig.
Me: Yes, that is true but you have a different purpose then that swan.
Prodigal: Maybe you can encourage me in that area.
I was reading from Lysa Terkeurst in her book Becoming More Than A Good Bible Study Girl.
When I compare myself to others and focus on wanting what they have, it quite simply wears me out trying to figure out how to have more, be more, do more. That’s why Jesus instructs wornout people, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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 11:28-30).
Note a couple key words in these verses. A “yoke” is a wooden frame used to harness two draft animals to whatever they have to pull. The Greek word for “easy” can also mean “well-fitted.” Combine this information together and it appears that Jesus is saying He has equipped each of us with well-fitted assignments in life. As long as we do and aspire to only what He calls us, our burden will not only be manageable, it will be light.
It’s also interesting to note that when an animal is in training, a farmer will often put it in a head yoke rather than a neck yoke to keep the animal from looking around and getting anxious.
You have been praying and you feel worn out. So what is this all about. See God has called you to this task. That much has been shown to you over and over again. The part where you have gotten off track is that you are trying to take on more than you should at this time. We have others to lighten the load. We have others to support us. Don’t focus too much on the whole picture, because that is overwhelming. It is time to just focus on your little part and then it will not be such a burden.
But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go and the LORD be with you.”
1 Samuel 17:34-37
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
