Top o’ the Mornin’ to Ya!
TLDR: Discover what it means to share the yoke with Christ and why Kingdom Family Leaders must find alignment – not lagging behind or pushing ahead, but walking in step with Him for the burden to be truly easy.
What?
Every Christian is riding under a yoke. If we have accepted that yoke from Jesus Christ, He will share that yoke with us and it’s gonna push down on our shoulders. But what are we doing with that yoke? What is involved in being a participant with Christ under that yoke?
One thing I left out as I thought about that yoke is just that it IS a yoke. There’s something to pull. We’ve chosen to follow Christ and follow God’s way and His path by taking on that yoke.
One thing I’ve noticed for myself recently is along with that yoke, sometimes I feel like I’m getting behind and the yoke gets at an angle because Christ is ahead of me and He’s pulling and teaching me. A yoke is used for oxen to train a young ox in the way and the methods of pulling.
Then sometimes I feel like I’m getting too far ahead or maybe it’s more like going the wrong way because I don’t see myself as ever being ahead of Christ. Just really pulling on that yoke so that it’s pulling against me. I’m trying to go over this way, You’re trying to go over that way. Or just He’s pulling back, holding me back from sin, from a wrong path.
It’s that yoke and that arrangement, alignment of that yoke with me and who I am and where I’m going. And what my identity is in Christ sharing that yoke. How can I be not too far back and not too far pushing forward that I can be in alignment with Christ? That I can be in alignment with God. That I can wear that yoke in a way that it doesn’t hurt. That I can pull and contribute and that my burden will be easy.
This goes along with the fruit yesterday. Getting the fruit of the Spirit is getting that alignment. The only way I could think of to do that is to gather with other men in the name of Christ, to study His Word in the name of Christ, and to gather and meditate and pray with Him on a regular basis.
Why?
I share this because Kingdom Family Leaders often struggle with yoke alignment without realizing it. We either lag behind Christ – resisting His leading, staying comfortable, avoiding the pull. Or we charge ahead – running our own agenda, doing “good things” in our own strength, pushing forward without His direction.
Both create friction. Both make the yoke hurt. Both prevent us from experiencing what Jesus promised – that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. The issue isn’t the yoke itself. It’s our alignment under it.
Lesson
The yoke metaphor reveals a training relationship. Christ uses the yoke with us like an experienced ox trains a young ox. Sometimes He’s ahead pulling and teaching. Sometimes He’s pulling back, holding us from sin or wrong paths. Sometimes we’re straining against Him, trying to go our own direction.
True alignment means walking in step – not too far back in resistance, not too far forward in self-effort. When aligned, the yoke doesn’t hurt. The burden becomes easy. You pull and contribute from your place beside Christ, not from behind in fear or ahead in pride.
This connects directly to the fruit of the Spirit. Getting that fruit is getting that alignment. You can’t manufacture spiritual fruit while pulling against Christ or lagging behind Him. The fruit flows naturally when you’re walking in step, sharing the yoke properly.
How do we find alignment? Not alone. Through gathering with other men in Christ’s name, studying His Word, meditating and praying regularly. The community keeps us from drifting too far back or charging too far ahead.
Apply
This week, identify where you’re misaligned under Christ’s yoke. Are you lagging behind – resisting His leading in an area? Or pushing ahead – running your own agenda without His direction? Write down the specific area. Then find or create space to gather with other Kingdom men to study, pray, and realign together.
You be blessed!
