Yearn, Obey, Know, Excel

UV 1046-10,000 Yearn, Obey, Know and Excel
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light
Matthew 11 v 30

The yoke is the center of the egg as well as the heavy yoke of the plough that is used to rake the field. But Jesus says that the yoke or responsibility that He gives us is easy, cool, light and simple. He yokes us or unites us with the Almighty Father. Hence, whatever burden we face, we need not be borne down with the sheer weight of it but cast it as if it is of no avail at the feet of the Lord. I recently read an illustration that made the idea of how burdens develop and trouble us. If we hold a glass of water in our hands for a few minutes, it will be no trouble. But if we are compelled to hold it for hours and days together, it becomes a big burden. Similarly, our burdens as well as our hopes grow in us, the former to become a source of pain and the latter to become a source of joy. We need to lighten ourselves or unburden ourselves in prayer the moment a troublesome thought or stimulus occurs. We need to cultivate the perspective that whatever happens in our lifetime is only a light and momentary trouble that cannot be compared with the weight of the prize of eternal glory.

The letters in the word “yoke” stands for yearn, obey, know and excel. We need to yearn or love God with all our heart, all our soul, all our strength. We need to be passionate people before we can be compassionate. We need to obey His Word and His will for our lives wholeheartedly. We need to know the depth of His love and the expanse of His grace outworking great things in our lives. Finally, we need to excel in our faith, works, work, character and contribution. The word excel can also be written as X-cell, the single cell or yoke or the unknown factor that grows and multiplies to become every living being on the planet. No scientist or biologist is able to explain why that single cell grows and multiplies to form organs and finally an organism. The force that drives it is nothing but the power of God. We need to plant, nourish and sustain by faith an X cell or yoke in every area and domain of life. I make a distinction between works and work for the former indicates our actions done to express our faith while the latter is our profession or career or what we do for a living. We also lighten each other’s burden or yoke by praying for one another as well as taking practical steps to lend a helping hand. In doing so, we show that we love one another.



The yoke or seed is a kernel of truth that the Lord places on our heart. The managerial, leadership and life concepts that are couched in simple language and illustrated with parables and testimonies of real flesh and blood people successfully facing awesome challenges right through the Bible act as a yoke in our lives to transform our knowledge which is an intellectual penetration and retention into understanding which is an emotional penetration and retention and our understanding into wisdom- a penetration and retention in all aspects of our lives. The yoke is the simple gospel of salvation that each of us need a Saviour and that Saviour is Jesus. He can help us turn every millstone in our lives into a milestone, a marker of progress in our upward journey. These are the Jordans that the Lord has helped us cross. How we faced the challenge of each millstone becomes a memory of God’s grace, a cause of thanksgiving, a source of strength and joy, a testimony to encourage many, to induce faith and induct them into the kingdom of God. In other words, the way the Lord lifted the yokes of burden will itself become a yoke of faith, blessing and growth.

Prateep V Philip