Let Jesus Set The Pace

"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle (KJV says 'meek') and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." - Matthew 11:29 (NKJV)

We tend to look at meekness as weakness. But meekness is not weakness. Meekness is strength under control.

I want you to picture a powerful stallion who has never been raised domestically. Wild and free, running wherever he wants. That looks like beauty and strength. But it is not productive. You cannot use him. You cannot get anywhere with him. Now put a saddle on him. He has not lost one ounce of his strength, but now that strength is under control. Now he is usable. Now he can go somewhere. This "strength under control" is the Bible's picture of meekness.

Jesus described Himself as "meek" (KJV), "gentle and lowly" (NKJV) in Matthew 11:28-30. This is the same Jesus who drove the money changers out of the temple with a whip and spoke with an authority that left crowds speechless. He is the Lord of heaven and earth. Meek does not mean weak.

Moses is another example. Numbers 12:3 describes him as the most meek man on the face of the whole earth. And yet Moses walked into Pharaoh's court and said, "Let my people go." He led two million Israelites out of Egyptian bondage and oversaw a nation for forty years in the wilderness. Strength under control. That is meekness.

Matthew 5:5 says, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." Blessed are the teachable. Blessed are those who yield their strength to God's control.

When Jesus says, "Take My yoke and learn from Me," He is saying, "Yoke up with Me." A yoke pairs two animals together, often a stronger one with a weaker one, a faster one with a slower one. Jesus says, "Put My yoke on you. I will set the pace." Now, we might say that sounds restrictive or sounds like bondage. But Jesus says His yoke is easy and His burden is light. When you are yoked up with Jesus and letting Him set the pace, that is not bondage. That is freedom. You stop trying to do everything in your own strength. You stop running wild in every direction without anything productive happening.

Proverbs 29:18 says, "Without a vision the people perish." The word "perish" in the Hebrew actually means they "throw off restraints." Without a revelation from God about where to go and what to do, people cast off the saddle and run wild. There is a lot of activity, but nothing productive is happening. The most productive Christians are those who submit to Jesus' plans for their individual lives. The most effective churches are those that submit to what Jesus wants in His church.

What has He called you to do? That's His saddle. That's His yoke. Get back under that saddle. Put back on the yoke. Let Jesus set the pace in your life. Stop trying to do everything. Do the one thing He has gifted you to do and let Him use you in that special, unique way. "And you will find rest for your souls" is the promise! We want to experience His rest, don't we? Well, let's let Jesus set the pace in our lives.

Reflection Question: Where are you running in your own strength instead of letting Jesus set the pace?

Dear Heavenly Father, I confess I have sometimes run in every direction without checking with You first. Teach me what it means to be meek, to be strong and submitted. Help me take Your yoke and trust that Your pace is the right pace. I do not want a lot of activity that goes nowhere. I want to be useful in Your hands. In Jesus' Name, amen.

Check out: "What Makes a Great Church" (Ephesians 4:1-3): https://www.joshfranklin.org/media/hkkjzjx/13-what-makes-a-great-church-eph-4-1-3