Break Every Yoke | The God Fast

Scripture: Isaiah 58:6, Matthew 11:28-30, 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, John 10:10-11

As we continue through The God Fast, we've already explored loosing the bands of wickedness, undoing heavy burdens, and letting the oppressed go free. This week’s focus is powerful and personal: Break Every Yoke.

A yoke, in its most basic sense, is a wooden harness placed on animals to control and guide them. But spiritually, a yoke represents what we are attached to, submitted under, and driven by.

What Are You Yoked To?

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30,

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you… for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

So many of us are yoked to the wrong things—man made religiosity, the approval of others, the burden of sin, or the expectations of this world. These yokes are heavy. They crush us. They never deliver on what they promise.

But Jesus offers us something different. His yoke brings:

• Rest for your soul

• Relief from religious exhaustion

• Freedom from guilt and shame

• Peace that surpasses understanding

Learning to Abide

The yoke of Jesus isn’t about performance—it’s about presence. He doesn’t call us to strive harder; He calls us to abide. To learn from Him. To follow His ways. To rest in His finished work.

Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live. Now He invites us to take His yoke and walk in daily surrender, being transformed from the inside out.

Be Careful Who You’re Yoked With (2 Corinthians 6:14-18)

We’re not only yoked by Christ—we’re also yoked to people and that matters. Paul warns us not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers, because relationships impact our spiritual walk.

A pair of oxen must move in the same direction, or the plow gets off course. In the same way, if you're yoked to people who pull you away from God, you’ll struggle to grow in your faith.

That doesn't mean abandoning people, but it does mean:

• Guarding your heart

• Protecting your time

• Surrounding yourself with faith-building relationships

Break Every Yoke... Reflection Questions:

• What burdens or expectations are weighing you down right now?

• Are you yoked by Jesus—or to something else?

• What relationships in your life are strengthening or weakening your walk with God?

• What would it look like to fully surrender to Jesus’ yoke this week?

This week’s challenge: Take off every false yoke—and put on the yoke of Jesus. If you missed this message, go back and watch. You were never meant to carry that burden alone.