December 27 - VK Brandt
Isaiah 9:2-7
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
on them light has shined.
You have multiplied exultation;
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as people exult when dividing plunder.
For the yoke of their burden
and the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian.
For all the boots of the tramping warriors
and all the garments rolled in blood
shall be burned as fuel for the fire.
For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders,
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Great will be his authority,
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time onward and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” This profound statement says a lot about Jesus’s character, even when He was prophesied about 700 years earlier. Why? Well, Isaiah 9:4 says, “For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor” and then it goes on in verse 6 to say, “for to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Yokes were used for farming to put the burden of sowing seeds or carrying a lot of weight on the shoulders of cattle. One of the ways to understand the yoke that Scripture talks about is to think of it as the weight of the world. Individually and collectively, God knew we would need Him to help us with sin, death, and living in a fallen world. But now, the burden that was originally placed on us as humans now is placed on Jesus. First, He shattered sin, death, and spiritual bondage, and then Jesus replaced the yoke of darkness with a ✨light✨ yoke, you know, ‘cause He’s the light of the world.
But that means that as Christians, we don’t have to worry about the world around us. The weight of sin and death that we would otherwise feel, Jesus took that yoke from us. Every time we sit down and spend time with Him, pray, read the Word and walk in obedience, Jesus lifts that yoke off of us. Jesus is fully in control of the world that we live in. There is nothing that escapes His eye. He’s so willing to take away all the pain, guilt, and shame you may be feeling. He replaces the yoke of the world from around our shoulders with His yoke. The worldly yoke is built to weigh us down, but His yoke is built to keep us side by side with Him so He can walk with us and take care of us. The closer you begin to get to God, the more you’ll see your hunger for the world fade away, because God replaces your desires with a desire for Him!
So if you’re weighed down by the world and the things you know are not of God, but you don’t know how to turn back to Jesus, I challenge you to take a moment in prayer and ask Jesus to take the burden you’re feeling away and replace it with a new heart that wants to walk in obedience and freedom. Jesus is the prince of peace. This season, let the story remind you that God’s peace is always perfectly timed. “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.” Let the Mighty God be your Prince of Peace.
Jesus, You once said that Your yoke is easy and your burden is light. Help me walk out my faith with You so that I’m able to have the peace and freedom that you offer. I reject the world and all it has to offer and want to live for You only. Open up my eyes to see in the Spirit so I may discern what’s truly of You and not of You. I ask that You would take away everything that’s taking me away from You and preventing me from having peace. Thank You for giving Yourself up for us and help me to encounter Your Holy Spirit even more fully. In Jesus’ name, Amen.