Lately, I’ve been feeling overwhelmed by the weight of my workload. The tasks seemed beyond my capacity, and I felt like I was shouldering the burden alone.
I’ve come to realize that I’m not alone in this struggle. Many of us find it challenging to let go and accept help from others. We often cling to control, believing it brings us ease, but this mindset can lead to burnout and a desire to abandon our responsibilities altogether.
Moses, the leader of the Israelites, faced a similar struggle. Fortunately, his father-in-law, Jethro, recognized Moses’ turmoil and offered wise counsel, which I believe holds valuable lessons for us today.
Moses was facing a great task of serving as judge for all of the people
The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”
Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.” (Exodus 18:13-16)
Lessons from Jethro:
Acknowledge that you alone cannot do the work
Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.“ (Exodus 18:17-18)
Teach the people God’s instructions
Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him.
Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. (Exodus 18:19-20)
Delegate by appointing trustworthy leaders
But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. (Exodus 18:21)
Share the Load and focus on the things you need to focus on
Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.
If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.” (Exodus 18:22-23)
Moses listened and followed his father-in-law’s advice
Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. He chose capable men from all 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)
Graceful Strides 