We Carry This

by Kaji Douša | published on Jun 3, 2026

[Jesus said,] “Come to me, all you that are weary… For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28a, 30 (NRSV) 

“My yoke is easy and my burden is light,” Jesus said. Then what’s that on my back?  

A number of people I meet imagine that faith means less work and strain. But that wasn’t Jesus’s promise. He said we would not carry it alone. 

A yoke is a shared means of bearing responsibility. It’s designed so that the weight is distributed, so that no single body absorbs all the strain. When Jesus speaks of a yoke, Jesus is speaking about companionship with a shared direction.  

That means some of what you are carrying right now may not be yours to carry by yourself. Some of what feels heavy may be a sign that the work is holy but you need to find someone you can entrust to share the load.  

Part of spiritual maturity is building a spirit of discernment that reveals who to celebrate with and who to collaborate with, too. They may not be the same person. Your spirit of discernment can reveal who to struggle with and who to trust with what God is doing in you.  

God will give you appropriate companions for your walk. Some of the work is learning to recognize them. The rest of the work may just be healing enough to let them do it. 

Jesus’s yoke is easy because it comes with provision, presence and people. So if you’re collapsing? The first thing to do is to figure out why. Asking those questions will shape you, alongside others who can carry the yoke beside you. Someone else, in other words, is going through their own expression of the same thing.  

If you are carrying too much, pause and ask: is this Jesus’s yoke, something I picked up alone, or something someone else dumped on me? Who might God already be placing next to me? 

Prayer 
God of shared strength, help me to recognize the yoke you offer and the companions you provide. Teach me to carry what is mine, and to trust others – and especially you – with the rest. Amen.

Kaji DoušaAbout the Author
Kaji Douša is the Senior Pastor of The Park Avenue Christian Church, a congregation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ, in New York City.