(Matthew 11:28-30) Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

(John 15:5) I am the vine; you are the branches.  If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

People often ask, “What are you doing for God?”  Perhaps the proper response to this question would be, “Do you mean what am I doing with God?”  Doing something for God puts us in charge, and the full wait is then on our shoulders.  We like to be in charge, but that’s not how it works with God.  He gives us a ministry and leads us through the daily fulfilling of that ministry.  He doesn’t expect us to do it on our own.  John reminds us that Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing.”

Months ago one of my beloved granddaughters and her fiancé came to me and asked if I would perform their wedding ceremony.  I was honored by their request and delighted to do it.  However, as the day approached, the weight of performing this wedding ceremony began to weigh heavy on my shoulders.  The importance of the marriage ceremony, and its significance in this young couple’s life loomed heavily before me.  I became overly stressed.  It wasn’t until the wedding day came that, through desperate prayer, I finally realized that Jesus and I would be doing this together.  Oh, how this lightened the load.  Jesus and I did a fine job, and the ceremony went well.

Looking back, I recognize how I had let the responsibility of the task almost steel the joy of the moment.  Jesus had to rescue me, again.  You’d think I’d learn.  There is unmeasurable value in the words of Jesus.  This is a truth I know so well, yet I can all too easily forget this in the process of daily life. 

So, I am again reminded that whatever the task we face, Jesus is right beside us; we are yoked together, sharing the load, doing it with God.