God calls us to lean on him when life is broken.

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“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Matthew 11:28-29 English Standard Version

Don’t ask me to be your mechanic when your car breaks down. Taking things apart is not a problem. In fact, I’m rather good at breaking things down. It’s putting them back together that doesn’t go so well with me.

Pucallpa, Peru

I don’t know what was wrong with this man’s motor for his boat, but he seems to be intensely inspecting it. I don’t remember seeing how he resolved the problem. I don’t remember if he tore the motor apart himself or called in someone else, but if it was broken he need it fixed.

What do you do when life is broken? Do you try to fix it yourself? Do you try to find someone else who will fix it for you?

Jesus invites us to come to him when life is broken. He doesn’t necessarily say that he’ll fix our life (even though that’s what we want him to do), but he does promise to give us rest, and this rest comes as we are yoked to him by faith.

Though we might fancy ourselves free, the reality is that we’re yoked to something. We’re either yoked to our sin and failures, or we’re yoked to Christ who bore our burdens on his cross.

I’m not saying that Jesus is the Master Mechanic who fixes every problem; sometimes he does and sometimes he doesn’t, but he is the one who can be trusted when life is broken. He can be trusted to bear our burdens and give us rest.

Copyright Douglas P. Brauner