Yoke

Ok, well, it has been about a year since I left my beloved WAC also known as Fresh H2O my old church in Wadsworth. And let me tell you I left the Freshwater and entered a year of stinky stagnant water. Like the type of water that does not move it lays still and grows algae with the wonderful aroma of decaying organisms and mud, that is if mud has a smell. A marsh or a swamp would best describe my life this past year. being stagnate, smelly, and green with a hit of blue or blues. With good old Stevie Ray Vaughan to keep me company of course. Anyway the past year was quite a challenge for me. I knew God was telling me to leave, so I left with the anticipation that everything would fall into place and move right along into bigger and better things. Well that was my plan not God's. Nope, He had me just were he wanted me to be at that place were you are waiting to hear from Him and wanting to move on. However, He remains silent. When God is silent and not speaking nine out of the ten times I, meaning myself, am in the way and my sin keeps me from Him. Not a very fun place to be it is rather scary when you have this amazing relationship going listening to him a clear as day, and confirmation from up above and then boom nothing!



So I have decided that this past year was a the year of the Yoke crazy I know but allow me to explain Gal 5:1 and 13 says, " It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." The yoke has several different meanings in the bible. One it is described as a a Rabbi, meaning the student is yoked to the Rabbi's teachings and lifestyle. The second is to be yoked as in to be owned as a slave. Finally the third is yoked as in a marriage to be unequally yoked meaning that one has significant power or support over the other. Unequally yoked in the circumstances of a believer and a non believer, because what does a believer and a non believer have in common.



The Yoke I am talking about is the yoke as a sign of ownership. In Jeremiah 27, Jeremiah is instructed by God to "Make a yoke out of straps and crossbars and put it on your neck." finished with him and serve the King of Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar) for that is whom God has appointed to be in charge at this time until God finished with him. So Jeremiah was telling the people of Judah to accept there fate and to wear the yokes as well as the leaders of the surrounding nations, because they decided to have a secret rebellion meeting. Showing them that there is no point in resisting Neb , because he is in control and will remain until God is done with him. Kind of like oxen who wear the big yokes around there necks back in the day so the farmer could control them and plow the fields. Locked tight in the yoke having to carry the the heavy load. They had to submit to Neb because they were slaves and belonged to Him until God comes and breaks the yoke of ownership, but for now they were under the control of Neb. If we are not careful we can become a slave to many things and surrender to them and end up wearing our own yokes. But this is what God says, "I will break their yoke from your neck and tear your shackles away!" Nahum 1:13

So with all of this yoke talk I could not help but to think of an egg. Yes, I know a egg. So if you are still reading this bare with me. Just a regular egg. The shell representing us. And inside the egg is OUR dreams crack it open and everything runs out! A sign of our dreams without God they run out and nothing is left but an empty shell. An shell without any dreams, also known as stagnant water. The egg white and yoke is not whole it just keeps on running out.

Take a hard boiled egg for example, crack it open and pull the outside layer off the shell layer by layer. Pulling us out of the picture and surrendering! Next we find the a solid egg white representing OUR dreams. The Yoke represents GOD'S dreams and us surrendering to him. Declaring HIS ownership that we belong to HIM and we were bought with a price. If you purchase something you have to pay it back. So you owe HIM everything including your dreams. All together in one piece. Hear is a question for you, How does one carry an egg? And in whose hands would you be in? Do you want to be just an egg or a hard boiled egg! To sum it all up this past year I carried with me the yoke of man, self and my dreams, my expectations not Gods and my shell was left empty with dreams running out. I have a feeling that this may be the year of the hard boiled egg for He broke the yoke from my neck and tore my shackles away.