Emotional Pain...part 2

Dealing with emotional pain isn't all that simple. We all have different personalities, we have good and bad child experiences, some carry emotional pain through their entire lives... thinking by "ignoring it"...it's no longer a problem...  and yet others become an "emotional wreck" and their emotions run wild their entire lives... the list could go on and on.

 There are tons of articles, books, and groups you can join that can give options in life on how to deal with emotional pain.
 In Matthew 11:28-30, it seems to me Jesus gives a few step-by-step instructions on what we are to do in regards to our "emotional side".
 First, He asks the question..."Are you wore out...Are you "carrying too much on your shoulders...Are you just tired...of life?"
 I find it kind of interesting that He asks us what our problem is? Don't you think He already knows?...Yet, He wants to hear it from us.
 I think the first thing we need to do if we suffer "emotional damage"...and I think it is safe to say we all have emotional damage to some degree, we have to answer His question as honest as we can. I thing the "blame-game" (like having a bad childhood), too many tragedies, or simply pointing the finger at someone else...these reactions to His question sometimes can slow the process of getting "healed up" from how life has treated you.....but...you gotta start somewhere. Sometimes the emotional pain hurts so much....and you were just an innocent victim....what else can you do but point to some event or some person that brought the emotional pain in your life in the first place...right? 
 Anyway, I think Jesus wants us to open up and be able to admit there are some hurts that have done some damage in our journey through life.
 Honestly....alot of people never do answer His question...or they simply ignore it entirely throughout their lifetime.

 Then, after Christ Jesus asks this question, He makes a statement....one of those statements that are quoted and remembered throughout history....."Come to Me".
 Actually, Christ used this phrase quite frequently. He said: "Come with Me" when He first called "The Original" ( the 12 disciples), He said this when calling others to come and follow Him, and He is using this phrase now to offer us the help we may be so desperately wanting.
 What I really like about Christ Jesus saying this in Matthew 11 is: He didn't say "Ok, here is where you screwed your life up" or " Ok, in order to get some help from Me you are going to have to do this". Rather, He just says "Come here...what's going on?"
  He then begins to simply tell us what He can offer us if we would take the time and give Him a chance. He accepts us...just the way things are...the hurt, the pain, the confusion, the rejection...all He wants of us is to "Come"...and let Him have the chance to give us some much needed emotional healing. 

 Jesus then tells us how He is able to give us the power to recover from the pains of life that have got the best of us, and how He can relieve, soothe, and refresh our lives....giving us purpose to live again. He also says we are invited to enter the "Rest of Life" and enjoy ourselves, enjoy others, and enjoy Him.

 It is at this point he brings up "The Yoke"...and why it is an important addition to our very lives.

 When I think about a yoke...I am thinking getting caught and forced to serve in some type of manual labor...being watched constantly and beat on if I am not keeping up with the pace.
 Yet, when Jesus is "talkin' yoke"...it's a whole other story.

 First, Jesus claims His yoke is a good thing....and it would do us well if we joined with Him under a yoke. It's really not about losing your freedom, rather, the opposite. According to Jesus, His yoke that we share together..actually increases my freedom in being who I want to be and equally important...being who God has made me to be.
 I remember a guy who had a tremendous talent playing baseball. He was a pitcher and could throw the ball close to 100 miles an hour. Yet, he never disciplined himself to make the most of it. He didn't learn when to throw the fastball so it would be most effective, he didn't practice refining his pitches, and he didn't care about mastering curve balls, breaking balls, or a change-up. He just went out to the mound and threw the fast ball... as hard as he could...every pitch.
 At first, it was fine...he was overpowering and built quite a name for himself. But, as he "moved up the ladder" and entered the minor leagues....it wasn't so great. Guys were beginning to hit his fastball, and the coaches tried to direct him to certain disciplines...but he wanted to do it his way..."Hit my fastball if you can"...and sure enough...they did. As a result, he dropped out of baseball...the last time I saw him he was working at a grocery store...playing fast pitch softball for a recreation.
 Could this guy have made it to the major leagues?....I think so...but in the "name of carefree and shoot from the hip" lifestyle...he didn't.

 So, I adjust my whole outlook on this "yoke thing" that Jesus is referring to...it's in my best interests if I submit myself and join Him in a yoke. He knows what He is doing...and if I take some time and learn the way He does it...then I apply His Ways to my life...I too can find success in life.
 Then, all the hurts, the animosities, the rejection, and the abuse can be overcome...and I can be healed. It is only then I can really discover...who I am....and He wants me to do that...find my purpose...in the daily life we all face.
 Simple?...sometimes. Hurt?...yea there are those moments....like facing what you fear the most.

 The "Yoke" does have a couple of requirements. First, the recognition you can not deal with daily life in a matter that benefits you the most, and second, the need for Christ Jesus to be in charge of your life and realize that without Him you can never have life to the fullest.
 The "Yoke" with Christ Jesus enables you to learn His Lifestyle and make it your lifestyle. The "Yoke" you submit to and are fit into actually is useful to you...it's a good thing and allows you 
to do things you could not accomplish on your own.
 Christ Jesus also promises a person by submitting and joining Him in a yoke together, He will be gentle with you because He teaches you life with a humble heart....not demanding or overbearing.
 And Christ Jesus reassures you if you decide to be hooked up with Him through a yoke...you will discover life to be pleasant, have meaning, and comfortable in everyday ventures. Although we will face times in our journey that are hard and tough, with Christ the burdens have the potential to be light, easier to deal with, as we take our comfort...in Him.

Emotional pain and damage can only be completely healed through one way....getting hooked up under...."His Yoke".