Exodus 17:8-16, 18, 19:1-15; Matthew 22:34-46, 23:1-12; Psalms 27:7-14, Proverbs 6:27-35

“Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. He chose capable men from all over Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.” (Exodus 18:24-26 NIV)

I want to let you in on a not-so-secret, secret: you can’t do it all. Shocking I know! The more we get involved in ministry, the higher we move up in our careers, or just in general the older we get, the more we can start to take on added responsibility to ourselves. The truth is, we can’t do it all, and Moses is a prime example of how the Lord spoke to him in an unexpected way and provided sound counsel.

When Moses father-in-law Jethro came to the Israelite camp and heard everything that the Lord had done for them through their escape from Egypt and living in the desert, he immediately identified God as the true God, and in his own way was converted to the God of the Israelites. He brought burnt offerings and sacrifices, and ate a meal with the elders in “the presence of God.”

And after this “conversion” moment, Jethro spends the day with Moses and immediately recognizes the problem that no one else did, including Moses. The lifestyle that had been created for Moses was unsustainable–he was serving as judge for the people all day, every day, as the only one who could seek God’s will for a situation. And considering that the number of Israelite persons was substantial, I’m sure this did not make for any slow days!

I can’t help but wonder how many of us are in similar situations in ministry–an unsustainable pattern has been developed, and rather than recognizing it as unsustainable, we press forward, because that’s the way we know how to do it, or because it’s always been done that way. I wonder what would have happened to Moses had he not received this council from Jethro. How long would he have continued this way? How long COULD he continue this way before succumbing to utter exhaustion?

Which is where I think we need to lean on the Lord to teach us life-sustaining practices. I think from this story we can take away two points: first, the Lord doesn’t always give us the answer directly. As we can see with the story of Moses, Moses heard very clearly from the Lord, but it was only from living in community and receiving wise-council from another God-fearing man that he realized what needed to change. The Lord DIDN’T give this direction to Moses, but rather used someone else to speak to Him. I think community is so important for this exact reason–the Lord’s plan is NOT to tell you everything you need to hear, but rather to share His plan with everyone. Hence, we need to be open to the wise council of others as a possible word from the Lord.

Second, even though Moses had lead the people out of Egypt and was their leader as appointed by God, he could not do everything for the people. He was only one man, and even as the Lord’s appointed leader, he had physical and mental limitations. When we try to take everything on ourselves, we are ignoring our own physical and mental limitations and, in essence, ignoring the fact that God made us human. The work needs to be shared, and when we think that it all has to fall on us, we are both disregarding the body the Lord made for us, and disregarding the community of believers who are supposed to share the load.

Now, my own personal opinion is that if the Lord does not bring in someone to share the load, then maybe you’ve taken on more than the Lord has actually asked of you. Take that or leave it, but I would ask you to consider that with the Lord today.

So while we ponder these verses, ask the Lord what He thinks about your current situation in life. Better yet, find a trusted mentor or spiritual friend who understands you and your situation and ask them what they feel the Lord is sharing with them for you. Then ponder the response in your heart with the Lord. If you are taking on more than your share, how can you process through delegating with the help of the Lord? For those who subscribe to the belief that we need to be working 110% to please the Lord, this may be a hard process. But the Lord is kind and gentle, and by His leading He will show you how to step back in His way and by His grace.