Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light. (Mathew 11:28-30, NASB)
After the 1984 season, Bruce Lietzke told his caddie, Al Hansen, to remove everything but the clubs from his bag, as he wouldn’t be playing again until the following February’s Bob Hope Desert Classic. Hansen, not believing Lietzke, secretly placed a banana inside the driver’s headcover and zipped up the travel bag.
Weeks later, when Lietzke opened the bag to prepare for his first tournament of the new season, the overwhelming stench of the rotten, fungus-covered banana was the first clue. The experience was so unpleasant that it stained the driver, and Lietzke had to throw away the golf bag.
According to Bill Fields, a Golf World magazine writer and editor who has covered golf since the mid-1980s, Lietzke knew how to take a break and recharge. “Nobody enjoys the off-season more than me,” Lietzke told the Chicago Tribune in 1994. “November and December are like holy months to me.”
He was a man who knew that there was a time to rest, recharge, and spend time with family. Golf didn’t define who he was; it was what he did. He set an example of how to restore energy, passion, and connection both spiritually and physically.
Jesus tells us how to recharge with an invitation to come to Him if you are weary and burdened. The weariness referred to is spiritual exhaustion from trying to earn God’s favor through works and legalistic adherence to a complex system of laws and rituals.
The “heavy yoke” represents the burdensome demands of the Pharisees, which led to feelings of failure and spiritual bondage. As we strive to do things to earn God’s favor through our work, we will become exhausted, discouraged, and unfulfilled.
Jesus offers an alternative path to rest: a deep, soul-level peace and relief from this oppressive system. This rest comes from His presence, His yoke, and His grace.
He is humble, gentle, and not stressed, and He offers His presence as a source of peace. His “yoke” is a partnership with him, involving learning to follow Him and doing life in His spirit, not on our own strength.
True rest comes from receiving God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness through faith in Christ, which frees us from the burden of sin and self-righteousness.
Bill Fields went on to say, “Lietzke leaves behind not only the legacy of his amazingly low-maintenance skills that carried him to 13 victories on the PGA Tour and seven titles on the Champions Tour, including the 2003 U.S. Senior Open, but a reputation as one of the most decent people in golf, a person who put family far ahead of fame.”
Prayer: Lord, we ask you to remind us that you are the trustworthy source of peace, and that every day we need to praise you and worship you. Holy Spirit, lift us into His presence and help us to restore our souls.