Soul Care Part 1: Reviving Your SoulMfano

How to find rest for your soul - part 1

Your soul will be revived as you learn to live your life WITH God. So how do you do that? Jesus has some words for us. In fact, He extends the promise of soul care in Matthew 11:28-29.

Like every rabbi in his day, Jesus had two things. First, he had a yoke. Not a literal yoke, but it’s the same concept. Imagine two oxen yoked together to pull a cart or plow a field. A yoke is that wooden instrument that connects them together. It’s how you would share the weight or force of a load.

A yoke for a teacher was another word for a rabbi’s way of reading the Torah. It was also his set of teachings on how to be human. The way he taught his followers to shoulder the weight of life — marriage, divorce, prayer, money, sex, conflict resolution, government — all of it. What made Jesus unique wasn’t that He had a yoke; all rabbis had a yoke. It was that He had an easy yoke.

Second, Jesus had followers. In Hebrew, the word is talmidim. It’s usually translated as “disciples,” but an even better word is “apprentices.” To be one of Jesus’ talmidim is to apprentice under Jesus. Think about what an apprentice does. If you’re an apprentice to an electrician, you spend time with him, learning to do the things he does. Eventually, when he’s not there, you hope to pattern your ways after what he would do. So, in Matthew 11:28-29, Jesus teaches His apprentices how to care for the soul:

1. Spend time with Jesus: “Come to me…”

This is the most beautiful and generous invitation of Jesus. It’s time together. The things and the people you fill your time with will shape the trajectory of your life. How much time do you spend with Jesus?

2. Learn from Jesus: “Learn from me…”

We have so much to learn from the teachings and truths of Jesus. He taught using parables, He led by example, He healed, and He prayed. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Christians put a lot of emphasis on the truth part, but what about the way and the life?

Ask Yourself:

- How much time do I spend with Jesus?

- How well do I know the ways and the truth and the life of Jesus?

Pause to Pray:

Jesus, I know You are the way, the truth, and the life, and I want to be your apprentice…

Take a Next Step:

- Consider committing to reading through one of the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) in its entirety so that you can walk with the disciples as they walked with Jesus.