The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it
alone (Exodus 18:18).
Like most good pastors, Moses doesn’t see it, but he’s
riding a runaway train hurtling toward burnout in his attempt to care for the
people who followed him out of Egypt. They depend on him. He knows it and he’s
feeling the weight of that responsibility.
Thank God for his father-in-law Jethro, who can look at the
situation objectively and give the younger man (after all Moses is a mere
sprout of only 80) some good counsel. We all need a Jethro in our lives. From
the very beginning, God never intended us to go it alone. The Lord God
said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable
for him” (Genesis 2:18).
Jethro’s advice to Moses? [Choosing capable people who
can help you fulfill your mission] will make your load lighter, because they
will share it with you . . . And [everyone] will go home satisfied (18:22,23).
And the apostles ran into the same thing. We will turn
this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the
ministry of the word (Acts 6:3,4).
From Adam and Eve to Moses and Jethro to the Apostles and
their newly appointed deacons, God has never intended us to shoulder the burden
alone. That’s why he places us in the church; that’s why he puts us in a
family.
TODAY’S MEDITATION
Are you taking on more than
your share of the burden? Is your pastor? What could you do about it? What will
you do about it?
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