Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

Come to me, all of you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke on 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 to carry and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

According to https://texancultures.utsa.edu, there are three types of yokes. One for humans and two for animals – single and double animals. They define a yoke as ‘a wooden beam used to help carry or pull heavy objects by distributing the weight evenly on both shoulders’. When humans use them, the beam or pole would rest on the shoulders, right where the back meets the neck. The main difference with animal yokes is that they also have a rope that loops around their neck to hold it in place. I find it interesting that the words used by Jesus seems to indicate we are to join Him IN the yoke (His yoke). That it is more like the two-animal yoke than a human yoke. If that is the case, then we are both in the yoke together and Ruach HaKodesh is the rope around our necks that holds the yoke in place (guiding and leading us). The Father then, would be the one who is driving the equipment we pull. The One who is in charge of us. The One who is DIRECTING us.

The great benefit of this yoke is that WE are not in charge. Yes, our flesh HATES to be yoked. It HATES to be held back. It HATES to be directed. That is true. It’s the toddler throwing a full-on fit as the parents tries to put on boots so it doesn’t get frostbite in the snow. The assumption is ALWAYS that things are going to be terrible. We won’t be able to feel everything. We won’t be able to taste everything. We won’t be able to see everything. We’ll have to watch what we say and what we do. We won’t get to touch anything we want. We’ll MISS OUT. We will have a SUBSTANDARD experience. This is ALWAYS the position of the flesh. It is the ONLY viewpoint it has. It wants to be in total abandon with NO guidelines or ‘rules’. Free to do whatever it wants, whenever it wants, however it wants, to whomever it wants in perpetuity. No responsibility. No comeuppance. No restrictions. It is TOTALLY selfish. The ONLY time it is not selfish is when our minds have MADE it be selfless. It is ALWAYS temporary, ALWAYS rejected, and ALWAYS resisted. It takes our willpower to make our flesh be anything but totally selfish. It’s a pitiful situation.

The sad truth of it is that the things our flesh balks at are NEVER anything like what our selfishness claims. It is never the ordeal we claim it is. It is never the hardship. It is never the punishment. It is ALWAYS better than what we claim when we choose to backslide about it. The fact is that when we are in Jesus’ yoke JESUS is doing the heavy lifting. The only reason we are not an unbalanced team going wonky all over the place is Him. He evens us out. He makes sure we’re in step. As long as that yoke is on us, as long as Jesus’ yoke is on us, we are productive and effective and functional. Whenever we slip out from under the yoke we have NOTHING but problems. We are not as productive – or productive in the wrong ways. We are not as effective – or effective in the wrong ways. We are not functional – or we are functioning in the wrong way. The wrong way is ANY way that isn’t Adonai’s Way (John 14:6). Period (Acts 4:12). Full stop (1 Timothy 2:5). NO excuses (Romans 3:23) and NO exceptions (1 John 5:20).

Ruach HaKodesh was given to us – among other reasons – to function as that rope that keeps the yoke from falling off. He does not keep it from being removed. We can remove the yoke just as we can slip the yoke off our oxen. But it takes INTENT. We have to do it ON PURPOSE. It will NEVER accidentally slip off. EVER. We have HIS character. We CANNOT sin by accident. “Everyone who is fathered by God does not practice sin, because his seed resides in him, and he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God” (1 John 3:9). Our natural default as believers is to NOT sin. We ONLY sin when we CHOOSE to sin. Which is why our minds are the battlefield (Ephesians 6:12). It is why we are empowered to pull down strongholds so that we can free up our mindscape (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). It is why we renew our thinking back to righteous, godly thinking (Romans 12:2). Without us thinking as Jesus thinks, we will end up choosing to sin – which we do (1 John 1:8) and thank Adonai we have the ability to change our minds and repent in humble submission to His point of view (1 John 1:9-10).

Ruach HaKodesh helps us by preventing ACCIDENTAL slips. He brings to mind what Jesus has taught us. He brings to mind the Word we have put into our hearts and Adonai has written there. He helps us NOT to forget because He ALWAYS remembers. It is a HUGE blessing. It is an INCREDIBLE gift to us. Ruach HaKodesh is the guardrail keeping us from falling out of the yoke we are called to. We don’t trip and stand up. We stay humbly submitted and obedient. We are able to CHOOSE Adonai’s way. We are able to TRUST in what Jesus has done for us. We are able to BELIEVE that Adonai is honest and faithful and Love. Many times I have ‘felt’ that yoke slipping and feel the rope pulling gently at me. Not to hurt me, but to remind me of the way I should be turning. Where I should be directing my steps. I do not always LIKE it, but I am always GRATEFUL the guardrail is there.

Daily Affirmation of the Goodness of Elohim: Proverbs 13:25

“The righteous eats to satisfy his life, but the belly of the wicked will lack.” We have a choice. We can eat or we can consume. Those who consume are NEVER full. They are NEVER satisfied. They ALWAYS need more and more to get fewer and fewer returns. Consumers are ADDICTS. Eaters, on the other hand, do not consume for the sake of consumption. They eat to sustain life. They eat to keep going. They eat what they need, only as often as they need it, and are healthy, happy, and fully functional because of it. THAT is the freedom we have in Jesus (John 10:10). To partake of REAL LIFE instead of chasing a ‘high’ or trying to fill a hole. Adonai made sure to break us off of the world system of consumption. We have been freed to STOP eating when we don’t need to. We have been freed to eat TRUE BREAD instead of pale imitations riddled with body-destroying components and additives. Jesus came to make sure we were getting the PURE stuff. And only as much as we need to thrive and grow. He doesn’t KEEP things from us. He enables us to BREAK RECORDS and grow PROPERLY in ALL HIS WAYS. What a GOOD God!

Your Daily Confession of Elohim’s Goodness:

I taste and see that Yahweh is good; I am blessed because I take refuge in Him.

Psalm 34:8