Scripture
The next day Moses took his place to judge the people. People were standing before him all day long, from morning to night. When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What’s going on here? Why are you doing all this, and all by yourself, letting everybody line up before you from morning to night?”
Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me with questions about God. When something comes up, they come to me. I judge between a man and his neighbor and teach them God’s laws and instructions.”
Moses’ father-in-law said, “This is no way to go about it. You’ll burn out, and the people right along with you. This is way too much for you—you can’t do this alone. Now listen to me. Let me tell you how to do this so that God will be in this with you. Be there for the people before God, but let the matters of concern be presented to God. Your job is to teach them the rules and instructions, to show them how to live, what to do. And then you need to keep a sharp eye out for competent men—men who fear God, men of integrity, men who are incorruptible—and appoint them as leaders over groups organized by the thousand, by the hundred, by fifty, and by ten. They’ll be responsible for the everyday work of judging among the people. They’ll bring the hard cases to you, but in the routine cases they’ll be the judges. They will share your load and that will make it easier for you. If you handle the work this way, you’ll have the strength to carry out whatever God commands you, and the people in their settings will flourish also.” – Exodus 18:13-23
Declaration/Prayer
Lord, it’s written of Moses he was the most humble man on the face of the earth. Perhaps nothing expresses his humility more than the fact he was a man willing listen to his in-laws for advice! Seriously though, this story is a great illustration of the popular sayings…”let go to let God” and “delegate to elevate.” Like the men described, I want to have competence and character, as well as courage to trust You and entrust others. So highlight those things at home and at work I’m hanging onto and can be handed off to others to develop their know-how and leadership. Also, highlight something I may need to take off of someone else’s plate to free them up so we all fulfill our callings and flourish together. Amen.
