by Shannon Caughey

When coaches discuss the responsibilities of coaching, they sometimes say it feels like they’re carrying an enormous weight. There is the weight of all that needs to be done, the weight of expectations, the weight of wanting to make the most of the opportunity for influence, the weight of dealing with behavioral issues in athletes or complaints from unreasonable parents… It’s no wonder coaches can struggle with weariness.

Is it possible to experience genuine rest amid the weightiness of coaching? Jesus says it is. In this series of devotions, we’re considering the promise of Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30 – “²⁸ Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Jesus gives three commands: “come to me” (v. 28), “take my yoke upon you” (v. 29), and “learn from me” (v. 29). We looked at the first command in the previous devotion. The path to rest starts with trusting Jesus and coming to him. Let’s turn now to his second command.

A yoke is a wooden collar that was placed across the shoulders of a pair of oxen and then hooked up to something that they would pull. The yoke enabled the oxen to work together and jointly haul enormous weight—far more than either could do individually. At first glance, Jesus’ use of “yoke” imagery may seem odd: right after promising to give us rest, Jesus directs us to shoulder an instrument of work. But here’s what he is communicating with the command to “take my yoke upon you”: when our work is a partnership with Jesus rather than an individual effort, together we can pull enormous weight without getting worn out.

Dr. Paul Brand was a surgeon in India for many years. He spent most of his time treating leprosy patients, so he knew what it was like to help people with significant burdens. During his off hours, Brand liked to go into the hospital’s carpentry shop and construct yokes for oxen. The key to a good yoke was forming it to the oxen’s neck. A poor fitting yoke would quickly cause sores. A good fitting yoke covered a large area of skin to distribute the stresses of the load being pulled. A good yoke was smooth, rounded, and polished, with no sharp edges. Dr. Brand’s goal was to make yokes that fit so well and comfortably that oxen could haul heavy loads for years and their skin would remain perfectly healthy.

In commenting on Matthew 11:28-30, Dr. Brand wrote, “Jesus offers each of us a well-fitted yoke, of custom design. He does not call us to the kind of rest that means inactivity or laziness—that would lead to spiritual atrophy. Instead, he promises a burden designed to fit my frame, my individual needs, strengths, and capabilities. I come to him weary and heavy-laden. He removes those crushing burdens that would destroy any human being and replaces them with a yoke of appropriate stress designed specifically for me.”

In Judaism, God’s law was sometimes referred to as a “yoke.” This might make it seem like obedience to God’s instruction is hard work. But in v. 30, Jesus promises, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” When we submit in faith to Christ, he does not shoulder us with religious obligations that we have to fulfill on our own. Instead, Jesus partners with us in love, enabling us to obey his life-giving teaching, pursue his good design, and experience fullness of life in him. 

Responding to the invitation of Jesus doesn’t mean our daily challenges suddenly evaporate. Coaching is still demanding. There is still a weightiness to the call Christ gives to honor him in all we do. We will continue to be stretched and feel fatigue at times. Yet we hold onto Christ’s promise that we can rest in him as we partner with him in the work before us. His yoke is easy and his burden is light.

For reflection: In what ways are you feeling like you’re carrying an enormous weight? Share this with the Lord. Ask him to help you stop shouldering this weight alone and instead trust him and his partnership. Respond to Christ’s invitation to come to him for rest.