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Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
1 John 5:3 says that God’s commands are not burdensome. This teaching is important because we get confused since we have such difficulty keeping God’s commands. When we constantly sin and fail to keep God’s commands, Satan causes us to blame God, saying “God, your commands are too hard!” In reality, it is sin which is a burden! Every lie we tell makes things complicated. Every good deed we fail to do makes life harder. Soon all of our relationships are under great stress because of the damaging effects of disobeying God’s commands. God’s commands actually show us the lightest and least stressful way to live! We simply don’t believe God, and foolishly think our sinful shortcuts are easier. But they always lead to trouble. When you struggle in this area, reflect on Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28-30. Remember that Jesus uses the picture of a ‘yoke’ to describe keeping God’s commands and doing God’s work. See also Deut. 30:11.