Jesus says something in the Gospel that, at first glance, might not seem to match our experience:
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
An easy yoke? A light burden?
Most of us don’t feel that way. Life can be exhausting—work, family, struggles, suffering, the weight of expectations. Even our spiritual life can feel like one more thing on an already full plate. So what does Jesus mean?
A yoke, after all, is meant to join two oxen together. The purpose isn’t to make work disappear—it’s to share the load. When Jesus invites us to take His yoke, He isn’t handing us more weight. He’s inviting us to walk alongside Him, to let Him carry what we cannot.
The burden is light because we’re not meant to carry it alone.
Maybe that’s where we go wrong. We try to handle things on our own strength, forgetting that Christ is right there, offering to share the load. The question is—are we willing to let Him?
If life feels heavy right now, maybe it’s time to step back and ask: Am I trying to carry this by myself? Because the truth is, we were never meant to.