My Yoke is Easy (Il mio giogo è dolce)

I remember a time when I'd become very weary of all that was going on in my life and greatly in need of God's rest, as it talks about in Matthew 11:28. We all get to this place at times; several times even. But let's be real. What Matthew 11:30 says it takes to get that rest, accepting that Christ's yoke is easy... just doesn't come easy. When you think of a yoke or a burden, it's something that you know you must bear, but is still difficult to endure. Yoke, easy. Burdens, light. These are pairs of words that don't seem to go together. And if you read the verse in the Italian, it takes this even further. In the Italian Bible, the word used for easy is dolce; which as many know means "sweet."

Can this really be true? Can a bitter trial we experience actually be sweet? Well getting back to the time when I was truly burdened, I felt like it was more than I could bear. Having already walked with Christ for some years, my prayer life had become pretty strong. But under the weight of my trial I found myself going to God in prayer even more. And as I did, something pretty amazing began to happen. I was spending a lot less of that time agonizing over my circumstances and a lot more in delightful fellowship with God. Right in the middle of my troubles!

I remember that this was also a lonely period in my life when no one really seemed to have time for me. There were days when I would literally stare at the phone hoping it would ring, and I'd have someone to talk to. But the truth was, part of my trial was learning how to walk alone, when necessary. And it was really the fact that I didn't have anyone to turn to as I went through this trial, that pushed me to spend more time in the presence of God.

And even though I didn't know anything about the Italian Bible at the time, looking back now I can truly say, that was when I had my first taste. Taste of what you might ask? My first taste of Christ's yoke being dolce, sweet.

All These Things Will be Added (Vi Saranno Sopraggiunte)

I once saw an episode of a TV show where a man looked up one day and realized he was almost broke. Now usually that's the type of thing that  causes someone to panic. But this man didn't. And when asked repeatedly why he didn't; he gave pretty much the same answer each time. Something will come up, he'd say. Or, something will turn up.

The man wasn't worried because he knew that financially and career wise, he'd built on a good solid foundation. And he was confident that some opportunity would arise for him before things got too out of hand. And sure enough. By the time the show was over… out of the blue, something "came up."

The man's finances got back on track and he was able to continue having all the different things he needed.

In a similar way, Jesus teaches in Matthew 6 that we should not worry when there are unfulfilled needs in our lives. As it says in Matthew 6:33, if we are faithful in carrying out the things of God and we seek to walk in His righteousness; the things we're in need of will be supplied.

That's the way the English Bible puts it. It says, all these things will be added to us. But the word used in the Italian gives us another way of looking at this.