Are You Being Led or Being Driven?

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

Do you feel like there isn’t enough of you to go around? Like you’re on the cliff’s edge and about to go over? Perhaps because you’re doing much more than God intended you to do. You see, when God reveals His purpose for your life, He also gives you His power to carry it out. Usually it’s simple and remarkably sane. One of the surest ways to know you are walking in God’s will is that you will feel led, not driven.

Are you resting less and working more? Are you praying and reading your Bible less and worrying more? Maybe, like Moses, you’re dashing from one appointment to another: eating on the run, meeting deadlines, and trying to solve everybody’s problems while your own pile up. Others may have been impressed, but Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, wasn’t. ‘What is this thing…you are doing…?’ he asked (v. 14).

Not surprisingly, Moses became defensive. Too-busy people usually are. He attempted to justify his schedule, but Jethro didn’t buy it. Instead, he told Moses, ‘The thing…you are doing is not good. You will surely wear out.’ And what did he tell Moses to do? Shift gears and start sharing the load! (See vv. 22-23.) Then he bottom-lined it: ‘That will make your load lighter…you will be able to stand the strain’ (vv. 22-23 NIV).

Since when did stress become a sign of spirituality, or a seventy-hour workweek the mark of efficiency? Be honest: are you too stubborn to slow down, too insecure to say no, or too proud to ask for help? If so, talk to God about it.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me to share the work and not try, and do it all myself. Help me raise up others to help. In Jesus’ Name, Amen