What is your burden? What or Who are you yoked to? 6/9/25

If you have spent any amount of time around me, you have probably heard me say, "we are daughter's of the most high, we are not donkeys!"  That came out of my mouth during a prayer session several years ago for a sister in the Lord. She was loaded down with burdens, worries & anxiety over a particular situation in her life. It upset me to see her under that 'burden'. The lie from the enemy is that we are not being responsible if we do not 'worry' or 'care' or hang onto that burden!  After all, aren't we supposed to 'carry one another's' burden? Well let's take a look at definitions AND what the Word of God says about burdens.

Websters 1828 Dictionary: BURD'EN, That which is borne or carried; a load. That which is borne with labor or difficulty; that which is grievous, wearisome or oppressive.

BURD'EN, verb transitive burden. To load; to lay on a heavy load; to incumber with weight. To oppress with anything grievous; as, to burden a nation with taxes.

Let's see what the Bible says about burdens.

Exodus 1:11  "Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities…."

Exodus 6:6 "Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments."

Isaiah 58:6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?"

In Matthew 23:4,  Jesus is talking to the multitudes & his disciples referring to the scribes and Pharisees saying,  "For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers."

In Luke's account, Jesus is calling Pharisees hypocrites and one of the lawyers present speaks up and says to Jesus that He is 'also calling the lawyers a reproach'. Jesus responds in Luke 11:46  "And He said, “Woe to you also, lawyers! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers."

So Pharisees, scribes and lawyers afflicted people with burdens. Religion and religious people do the same thing today. You must read the Bible, you must pray daily, you must do acts of service etc…the list goes on and on. Now all of these 'things' are good and I encourage you to read the Word every day and do acts of service etc. However, if you are doing any of these things as a duty or a performance then it is not coming from a heart of love and out of a relationship with Jesus.  If it is burdensome to you, then you need to stop and ask yourself "why am I doing these things?"

Paul continues to talk about burdens in 2 Corinthians, stating several times that he kept himself from being 'burdensome' to them. He worked while he was preaching and teaching. He also received offerings from others (Philippians) so as not to be a 'burden' to them.

So back to my first question about bearing others burdens….

What does it mean to bear others burdens?

Paul refers to bearing others burdens in Romans 15:1 "We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves .Let each of us please his neighbor for his good leading to edification."

Websters 1828 dictionary definition of scruple: SCRU'PLE, noun Doubt; hesitation from the difficulty of determining what is right or expedient; backwardness; reluctance to decide or to act. SCRU'PLE, verb transitive To doubt; to hesitate to believe; to question;

Bearing the burden of the weak does NOT mean to carry a load per se; what it does mean is to be patient with the weak, teaching them the hope of the gospel and bring them to maturity in Christ. It also does not mean that we take on the "care" of others. That is a burden we are NOT to take on. We teach, edify, exhort and leave the results to God. Selah!

2Timothy 4:2-4 " 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables."

Paul goes on to describe this in Galatians chapter 6.

Galatians 6:1-2 " Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

So you can see here as well that bearing a burden is NOT about carrying a load. It is manifesting patience, love, diligence to teach and restore a person.   In other words, walking in love, training and teaching those that want to hear. Not everyone wants to hear…that’s another heart issue…Sometimes, brothers and sisters in Christ say they want to hear and learn but they really don’t as displayed by their actions. They might want you to do all the work for them. They want you to look up all the scriptures etc But that is not how God's kingdom operates.

God's Kingdom is about being in relationship with Him. Seeking Him.

1John 5:3 "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome."

So Gods commandments are not burdensome! If you are experiencing a 'burden' to follow the commandments then may I suggest to you to re-evaluate your relationship with your Lord & Savior. I am sure you have heard before that Holy Spirit is a 'gentlemen' and Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He will never push you or drive you. He will only lead you. Remember Psalm 23, 'He leads me beside still waters, He restores my soul.'  Jesus is not a burden and following His commandments are not burdensome. Jesus is a real person and wants a real relationship with you and me.

In Isaiah 53: 4 Jesus "bore(away) our griefs and carried our sorrows…" 

You can see here that Jesus is taking away the burdens. Griefs, sorrows, sickness of mind, sickness of body, pain, financial difficulty, cares, oppression; the list goes on…basically anything that is not good!

Remember burdens definition; " To oppress with anything grievous"

GRIE'VOUS, adjective [from grieve, or grief.] Heavy; oppressive; burdensome; as a grievous load of taxes.

1. Afflictive; painful; hard to be borne. Correction is grievous to him that forsaketh the way. Proverbs 15:1. 2. Causing grief or sorrow. 3. Distressing. The famine was very grievous in the land. Genesis 12:10. 4. Great; atrocious. Because their sin is very grievous Gen 18. 5. Expressing great uneasiness; as a grievous complaint. 6. Provoking; offensive; tending to irritate; as grievous words. Proverbs 15:1. 7. Hurtful; destructive; causing mischief;

So this pretty much describes the enemies plan for our life. I hope you are seeing that carrying burdens are not good for you or your overall health!

1Peter 5:7 (AMPC) "Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries,(burdens) all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully." How do we cast away our cares? We repent for carrying them, we give them to the Lord and we don’t take them back. When we are tempted to take on the care/burden, we say out loud, No! I am not taking that care, it doesn’t belong to me. I am care free!

I did a quick internet search on what "worry" does to your body: According to Web MD: Here is just a sampling of what worry can do to our bodies: Nervous system: Worrying can trigger the release of "stress hormones" that speed up your heart rate & breathing, raise your blood sugar & send more blood to your arms & legs. This is the flight or fight response that is useful in emergency situations. But over time, this can affect all these organ systems; When you are "troubled" about something, the muscles in your shoulder and neck can tense up & lead to migraines or tension headaches. With worrying you might breathe more deeply and more often without realizing it. It usually isn't a big deal but over time can be serious if you have breathing problems linked to asthma and/or lung diseases. The nagging concern in the back of your mind can affect your heart. It can make you more prone to high blood pressure, a heart attack or a stroke! You see the more you worry it is linked to higher levels of anxiety and that triggers those stress hormones to make your heart beat faster and harder. Over time your blood vessels may become inflamed which can lead to hardened artery walls. Remember earlier I said the body releases blood sugar to give you fuel for you "emergency" however worrying is not the fight or flight the body thinks that it is. So the raised blood sugar levels over time can lead to heart disease, strokes, kidney disease or even type 2 diabetes. The physical effects of worry affects your immune system as it may not fight germs as well. Just thinking about things that made you angry or depressed in the past can take a toll. (This is one of the reasons Paul tells us in Philippians to 'forget those things which are behind' …so repent, forgive those things from the past and move forward.) As a result of the anger/depression, it makes it harder for your immune system  to fend off the flu or other viruses. Are you seeing a pattern here? Even our digestive system takes a hit from nervous stomach to nausea, vomiting, stomach ulcers, acid reflux, constipation and/or diarrhea. So after seeing this list, I say  no thank you! I need to stay in my love walk and walk in peace! Remember that "worry" is a sin.

FYI: Fight or flight in men versus women's bodies: The chemicals/stress hormones flushes out of a man's system in 1 to 2 hours. It takes women's bodies 2-3 days! You see God is a God of order. He created men and women differently and for different purposes. Men have different responsibilities then women. There is a reason why God did that. There is such a thing called Godly order in the home. (And that is another teaching!) We were not created to take on the sin of stress/worry/fear/anxiety.

I thought we should pick on another common "sin" today, Gossip! So I searched Web MD and lo and behold they actually talked about gossip and rumors. They connected it to bullying especially on social media. They said that It can come in the form of untrue rumors or gossip about them or a loved one. It can also come through reactions to words or an image that has been posted. It can bring exhaustion, anxiety, depression and all of the 'negative lies and talk' can escalate to violence! When it is not addressed, it can also cause long-term physical and mental health issues including clinical depression , PTSD, panic attacks, guilt and suicide. Who knew? Can you see how important it is to recognize and repent of these behaviors? It is so simple, just repent for the sin of worry or gossip or whatever it is, ask Father to forgive you, forgive yourself and move on.

So you can see that we are not meant to carry burdens but who is?

Donkeys are known as 'beasts of burden'. They actually were created to carry 'burdens' if you will. Donkeys are described in multiple articles as "stubborn, cantankerous, strong-willed with minds of their own." They only respond to the prodding of their master. Donkeys are mentioned over 70 times in the Bible. They are described as work animals and  are used for riding. According to several articles, donkeys are still used in the Holy Land today. You would see them being used as "cargo carriers". They will have 20-25 crates balanced on them and are referred to as 'Jerusalem Jeeps'! They were created to carry loads or 'burdens.'  The Hebrew word for donkey literally means 'animal under the yoke'. It gives the image of an animal brought under control by a master. It does not have a free will of its own. But if it does, the master using the yoke and prodding  will quickly subdue the donkey.

Fun Facts about Donkeys/Pack Animals: "The US Army specifies a maximum of 20 percent of body weight for mules(donkeys) walking up to 20 miles a day in mountains, giving a load of up to about 200 lb. However an 1867 text mentioned a load of up to 800 lb! In India, the prevention of cruelty rules (1965) limit mules to 440 lb." That’s  a lot of weight for a little donkey. Or is it? You see they were created to carry "loads". We, as sons and daughters were not created to carry "loads" or "burdens".

Can you see how the weight of 'heavy burdens' in our lives can create chaos in our minds, pain and dysfunction in our bodies, prevent us from sleeping (which is when our body repairs itself) interferes with our immune system which results in a lack of homeostasis or "peace".  When we are not in peace (homeostasis) that means something is off in our body. It can result as something as little as being irritated in traffic, being offended/upset about what you heard on the news etc. What about the person who did not greet you at church! Seriously we all need to take a chill pill and walk in the other persons shoes before jumping to conclusions. Again, we need to learn the love walk. Remember this love walk is a journey. Paul talks about running the race and finishing the course. It isn't just about how we began our race or journey; it is how we endure and finish it! This is what Paul is talking about when he says we should be going from Glory to Glory!

 Every day, we should be reaching towards heaven, it doesn’t mean that we are living a 'perfect life'.  It does mean that when we fail or make a mistake, we are quick to repent and quick to forgive and continue on the journey. Don't let the enemy lie to you any longer telling you that "you messed up"  or "you are a loser" or  "God can't use you now" etc., Remind him that you are a son or daughter of the most High God! That you are forgiven! Then I like to remind him of his future! The enemy doesn’t hang around long when you remind him of his future.

So what about yokes?

Let's look further into the meaning of yoke, Websters 1828: YOKE, noun 1. A piece of timber, hollowed or made curving near each end 2. A mark of servitude; slavery; bondage. 3. A chain; a link; a bond of connection; as the yoke of marriage.4. A couple; a pair; as a yoke of oxen.5. Service. YOKE, verb transitive1. To put a yoke on; to join in a yoke 2. To couple; to join with another.3. To enslave; to bring into bondage.4. To restrain; to confine.

Let's look at a few scriptures regarding "yokes".

Leviticus 26:13 "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright."

Isaiah 10:27  "It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, And his yoke from your neck, And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil."

Isaiah 58:6  “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?"

So you can see here that the yoke described in these Old Testament verses are aligned with the definition of slave, servitude, bondage, restrain as listed by the 1828 dictionary. But let's look at what Jesus says in Matthew.

Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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.”

Can you see that Jesus is wanting us to join with Him? Remember He has already 'borne away' our burdens. He is not enslaving us. He is the TRUE burden bearer. He is telling us to connect or 'yoke up' with Him. Why? Because as it states in that verse, He wants to "give us rest". He continues with "learn from Me, find rest for your souls" ( mind, will & emotions). Then He states, "My yoke is easy & My burden is light."  How can His yoke be easy? Because of the Cross!

Isaiah 53:5 "But He was pierced for our sins, crushed for our iniquity. He bore the punishment that makes us whole, by His wounds we were healed."

You see Jesus has done everything that needs to be done for us. We just need to receive it. We do not have to "work" for forgiveness or healing. It is a package deal when we accept Him as our Lord & Savior. We just need to yoke up with Him, listen to Him, learn from Him. Think about it, if we were literally yoked to Jesus, we would go where He goes. He would never lead us astray. He is the good shepherd. He is not a task master. He is gentle as it says in that verse.  He gives us free will. It is our choice.

What are your burdens? What are your cares? What or who are you yoked to?

There is no condemnation here. Romans 8:1 "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." We are all on this journey of seeking Him.  Is there anything in your life that you recognize that you need to repent of?  (Bookmark from BIH) Recognize-Repent-Forgive-Move on or let it go!

I've recently dealt with something that may not seem like sin but it could lead to sin (gossip, negative talk etc) I recognized (thank you Holy Spirit) that I was spending way too much time reading & listening to news outlets. Do I really need to know all the news?  Was it stealing Peace in my life? Yes! So I repented for the 'need to know' and unsubscribed to several news outlets as it was not edifying and it was taking time away from my day. It really is that simple.  Yoke up to Jesus, ask Him where you might need an adjustment. He will gently lead you.

Value Peace!