Do me a favor and read this Scripture aloud: “This is not good … You’re going to wear yourself out … This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself,” (Exodus 18:17-18, NLT).
Now, my friend…could Papa God be trying to tell you something?
Moses was the original recipient of this message. It actually came from his father-in-law, Jethro, who was acting as God’s bullhorn. Moses had been crazy busy; the nation’s sole Supreme Court Judge was trying to be all things to all people.
When Jethro came to visit, he was appalled that “the people stood about Moses from the morning until the evening” day after day (Exodus 18:13, NLT). Moses was stressed out big time. No chance to exercise, gather his thoughts, chill to his music, watch his kid’s soccer match or even take a decent potty break.
So Jethro made a suggestion. A GREAT suggestion: delegate. Choose trustworthy people to help you, teach them how to do their part and then back off and let them have at it.
Moses wisely listened. He delegated his responsibilities and lightened his load. And I suspect he suddenly began enjoying beautiful sunsets again.
Take a moment and look back on your own activities, commitments and crazy busyness of the past month. Did you have the time/energy/motivation to pause and enjoy a glorious sunset, or a peaceful sunbeam, or get some stress-relieving exercise?
Are you overextending yourself? Spreading your time or energies too thin? Regardless of how well-intentioned we are, we’re only human, and the Master Designer, who created us and knows our limitations, wants us to set parameters, to pick and choose the way we spend our finite energies.
Overdoing not only robs our joy and ability to live in the moment, but it steals fulfillment and effectiveness from the priorities Papa God has appointed as our primary focus for this particular season of life.
Prayer: Breath of Life, I know You never intended me to do this all alone. Help me learn to delegate my responsibilities and intentionally live the life You’ve graciously provided. Amen.
