Friday

Related Verses
Matt. 11:28-30
28 Come to Me all who toil and are burdened, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

John 4:34
34 Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.

John 5:30
30 I can do nothing from Myself; as I hear, I judge, and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will but the will of Him who sent Me.

John 6:38
38 For I have come down from heaven not to do My own will but the will of Him who sent Me.

Gen. 1:26, 31
26 And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of heaven and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.
31 And God saw everything that He had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Gen. 2:2-3, 15
2 And on the seventh day God finished His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
3 And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
15 And Jehovah God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and to keep it.

Related Reading
[Matthew 11:28] refers not only to the toil of striving to keep the commandments of the law and religious regulations but also to the toil of struggling to be successful in any work. Whoever toils thus is always heavily burdened. After the Lord extolled the Father, acknowledging the Father’s way and declaring the divine economy, He called this kind of people to come to Him for rest. (Matt. 11:28, footnote 1) 

Rest refers not only to being set free from the toil and burden under the law or religion or under any work or responsibility, but also to perfect peace and full satisfaction. (Matt. 11:28, footnote 2)

To take the Lord’s yoke is to take the will of the Father. It is not to be regulated or controlled by any obligation of the law or religion or to be enslaved by any work, but to be constrained by the will of the Father. The Lord lived such a life, caring for nothing but the will of His Father (John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38). He submitted Himself fully to the Father’s will (Matt. 26:39, 42). Hence, He asks us to learn from Him. (Matt. 11:29, footnote 2) 

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To be meek, or gentle, means not to resist opposition, and to be lowly means not to have self-esteem. Throughout all the opposition the Lord was meek, and throughout all the rejection He was lowly in heart. He submitted Himself fully to the will of His Father, not wanting to do anything for Himself or expecting to gain something for Himself. Hence, regardless of the situation He had rest in His heart; He was fully satisfied with His Father’s will. (Matt. 11:29, footnote 3) 

The rest that we find by taking the Lord’s yoke and learning from Him is for our souls. It is an inward rest; it is not anything merely outward in nature. (Matt. 11:29, footnote 4) 

The Lord’s yoke is the Father’s will, and His burden is the work of carrying out the Father’s will. Such a yoke is easy, not bitter, and such a burden is light, not heavy. (Matt. 11:30, footnote 1) 

The Greek word [translated “easy”] means “fit for use”; hence, good, kind, mild, gentle, easy, pleasant—in contrast to hard, harsh, sharp, bitter. (Matt. 11:30, footnote 2) 

In our experience sometimes we just do not know…where to direct our thoughts. This is an indication that our mind needs the Lord Jesus as the Shepherd…As a result of His shepherding, our mind is directed and set in the right way. 

Our emotion, being complicated, is easily upset…Therefore, we need the Lord Jesus to shepherd us in our emotion. His shepherding comforts our emotion.

Our will also needs the Lord’s shepherding. As human beings, we often find it difficult to make the right decision. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to make a decision. Unbelievers have no one to lead them and guide them in making decisions. But we have a Shepherd to lead us and guide us. The Lord’s leading and guiding are primarily related to our will. As the living Shepherd, the Lord continually directs our will…The Lord is truly the Shepherd of our soul. He directs our mind, comforts our emotion, and leads and guides our will. 

According to my experience, there is a difference between leading and guiding. Leading is related to a destination. Suppose you are driving from your home to a certain city. A road map may lead you to your destination. But once you arrive at that city, you will need a guide, someone to direct you to the exact place where you want to go…For instance, on the one hand, the Lord will lead His people to the Holy Land. But once He has led them there, He will guide them to Mount Zion. 

As our Shepherd, the Lord leads us first and then guides us. He leads us to the right place, and He guides us to the exact spot. This is Christ, our Shepherd. (Life-study of 1 Peter, p. 192) 

Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 58