There is a neck yoke from the slavery days that hangs in a slave trade castle in Ghana. It is a gruesome sight. These yokes were made by the dominant tribes and fashioned from wood. Two slaves would be yoked together and marched to the castle to be sold to the British. While not terribly heavy, the yoke would strangle and choke the wearer as the rough terrain was covered on foot to the castle. If one person slipped or fell, both would suffer.
Yokes are for beasts of burden. You are not designed to carry these burdens.
My question for you is what are you yoked to?
What are you yoked to that you have no business being yoked to? You see, even though you may have identified the oppressive forces in your life, that doesn’t mean you have broken the emotional yoke they have on you. To break the yoking requires grace. Grace, unmerited favor. This is where you must give yourself permission to think differently about your future, emerge from the junk heap of the past, and learn to rewire your deeply ingrained thought processes.
For some of you that might mean not getting angry so quickly. You have a short fuse and lights quickly when you are under pressure. Others of you might retract in fear and shy away from taking the appropriate steps for your future. Finally, you might be the type of person who has always been concerned about how you look to others. Your image has dictated many of your decisions. Time to get comfortable being your and allowing others to take you as you are, not as the personality you portray. In reality, there is some mishmash of all three present in all of us. Determine which is the primary motive and address that one first.
While I think we can all understand the idea of a yoke burdening us in our lives, there is one part that a few of you may not agree with or understand. That is the role of our faults, transgressions, regrets and even sin in our lives that has held us back. I can only speak for myself here, but I have really done some dastardly things in my life that I can’t really account for. I mean, I can’t go back and make it right. You can’t undo a cut. Once the words or actions have been done, you can’t retract it. Sure, you can say you do, but the damage or “cut” has been done. I have said things to people that are so hurtful. I have acted in ways that are prideful and demeaned others. I have even thought things that would make you cringe. Some of the things I have done, I have asked for forgiveness. Others, I haven’t.
How you deal with breaking the yoke from your past, present and future are essential. For me, I couldn’t do with without my dependence on Jesus. Yup, I’m not strong or good enough on my own. However, you deal with it, make sure it is lasting. I have to revisit my thoughts and actions regularly. I have to ask my wife to clue me in on my behaviors and what they are saying (read: SCREAMING!!!). Examine your life. Break the yoke.