TeaTime Devotional August 18th, 2025

Written By:  Dr.  Byron Reaves

“Pull up on Him, he’s really Him”

Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Testify: 

After writing my dissertation on the realities of Black educational leaders in higher education, I had a revelation: even though God was with me and in me, I knew His power and didn’t put him in the center of my work. I didn’t ask Him about the problem or include Him in the solution. In education, we ask God to pull us through work stress and strife, but we rarely place Him at the center of our work or scholarly-related solutions.

I’ve learned that the work of a Black educator can be filled with joy, growth, and deep exploration with students, yet also harm, persecution, psychological violence, and relentless stress. We ask God to get us through, but think we have the answers to the problem without his word.

As I move forward in my calling as an educator, and in any work God gives me, I am reminded: no burden is mine to carry alone, and when I pull up for God, he will fulfill his promise. I have a God who sent His Son, who promised that if we commit to Him and learn from Him, He will take our labor and burden and give us rest.

EdifyI began this reading in Matthew 11, where John, imprisoned, heard about the works of Christ. He sent two disciples to ask, “Are you the one, or should we look for another?” Like the G that He is, Jesus told them to report back: the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor receive good news. Tell John, I am Him.

Before this, Jesus rebuked the cities where most of His miracles had been performed because they refused to repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!” To witness God’s power and not pull up for him by learning his word and centering him in your life is why Jesus rebuked these cities. Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me.” That’s the invitation, and that’s the answer. He says, For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

ApplyRemember: Pull up for God. Even in workplaces and systems that seem without Him, He is there. What would it mean for us to pull up for God the way he pulls up for us, to praise God beyond worship services, beyond good times, beyond fleeting happiness? Adhere to his work in your life. By learning Him, coming to Him, and praising Him, and by pulling up for him, we find the rest He promised.