The Right Yoke

Recently I lost 15 pounds ... and I am not going to try to find them! One of the pleasures of loosing the weight was fitting back into clothes that make me feel good and look good on me. It took a few years, but I finally did it. To keep myself motivated to continue to exercise and watch what I eat, I am giving away the clothes that are now too big for me. The fit is no longer right. They are too baggy, the seams do not line up right. In thos too baggy clothes, I look like an ad for "what not to wear."

I think the same is true for ministry. At least, it has been true for me. Recently (April 2009) I stepped down from my leadership role at my church. I stepped down from leadership at the church, but not from ministry. My work with PreachSista! continues, I still preach at other churches and conferences; and I am getting back to my "first calling" in ministry. My role at the church has changed because the yoke of ministry had become burdensome. It has burdensome because it was not the right yoke; truth be told, it has the right yoke. I first took up the leadership role to fill in a gap. During that time, I was right where God wanted me to be and I and the church flourished. But, when a pastor was hired, I stayed on in a leadership capacity because I was asked to and I thought I needed to; but in reality my role had changed. What had been the right yoke is now the wrong yoke.

My heart's desire is to be pleasing to God, to be right in the middle of His perfect will. We (and this is where I have been for the last four months) can sometimes get out of God's perfect will and land within His permissive will while doing good things. It was a hard reality check that I had to encounter before I could admit that the yoke I was wearing was not from God. Since stepping down and seeking God's perefct will, the yoke of ministry I now wear is the right yoke. This is not to say that everything is easy, but I know that I know that I am where God is leading me ... as opposed to where my pride or my flesh would lead me. God's Word is true, when we take up His yoke the burden is much lighter and we will find rest for our souls.