Before farm machinery was invented and before horses were used to till the land, oxen were used. A wooden frame was put around their necks so that they could work together, the load being shared between the two animals. In that way, it was impossible for one to go on ahead of the other, but they both must maintain an even pace. The burden of the load was shared by both animals.
We know this principle of sharing the load is necessary for humans to work together. Very often relationships and marriages fail because one person insists on too much leadership, not allowing the other to help make decisions. It is impossible to be yoked together if both partners don't pull together to carry the burdens of life.
While this principle of working together in human relationships is true, it is also true as we begin to walk with the Lord. God created us with a free will. He never uses force to get us to do something. In other words, we are created in His image to be co-workers with Him to establish His Kingdom here on earth.
Our problem is that we have allowed ourselves to become insensitive to what God is trying to accomplish in our world. If any inroads are to be made to stem the flow of evil, we must first of all learn about God and understand His ways, then we must put on the oxen yoke to work with Him.
Too often Christians decide that God would want them to do this or that, and go blindly ahead and do it, then wonder why it fails or they become overtired. Only by developing a relationship with Jesus can we communicate with Him to discover what and how much He wants us to do; we can then pull together to get the job done. If we can learn to work within His will then great things can be accomplished.
Jesus said, "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matt.11:28-30 NIV). He never asks us to carry a load heavier than we are able, with His help, to carry. But if we try to pull the wagon by ourselves, we often find it is impossible.
Conversion is the secret key which opens the door to answered prayer. Conversion, or being born again, is simply yoking up with Jesus. But after we do yoke up with Him, we have to learn to walk along beside Him, keeping an even pace, or we pull too hard and too fast and find ourselves collapsing with exhaustion and the yoke strangles us.
When we work within His will and pray about a problem until we feel at peace about it, then all we have to do is sit back and thank Him that He will complete the job according to His own plans. Too often we keep on fretting after we have carried our share of the load, not allowing God to do His part.
God's way of working out the problem may be entirely different to what we think He would be sure to do. We must remember God says, "My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts" (Isa.55:9).
We are yoked together with a King. It is much easier to work with One who knows where He is going and what He is doing than to be yoked to a human who leads us off in the wrong direction. How blessed we are to have such a One to help us carry our burdens!
© 1999, Doreen Palmer