I pray your week has been blessed with much time in the presence of God in prayer and Bible study! We're still in the book of Exodus this week, and man, what an account it is! What we read in the book of Exodus is cinematic movie material in every sense of the word. In chapter 18, we read about Moses getting a visit from his father in law, Jethro. Jethro has heard of what just went down with the people of Israel, which was a large amount of people. Through Moses, God led the Israelites out of 400 plus years of slavery in the land of Egypt. This was a big deal. It was such a big deal, that Jethro had to come see for himself. He came to visit Moses in the wilderness, where he was camped out with the Israelites. One morning during his visit, Jethro watched as Moses sat to attend and minister to the people of Israel. We're talking thousands and thousands of people. Some scholars say up to 600,000 plus. That's a lot of people. Moses would sit from morning to evening and the people would come to him to inquire about God, and bring their disputes to him for direction. Jethro quickly noticed something real quick. He noticed how much of a task this was, and how much it would soon take a toll on the well being and sanity of Moses. Jethro gave Moses some godly advice. He told Moses that all the need he was seeing among the people was too great for one man to handle. He suggested to Moses to find some able bodied men among the people that could be trusted. He then suggested that Moses place these men over divided groups of Israelites and tend to each group given to them. All the small matters would be handled by these appointed men, and Moses would only handle the larger issues. You know what Moses did? He took Jethro's advice. And it worked. I assume Moses had a few more less gray hairs after taking his father in law's advice. He probably slept better at night, and a lot of the burden he was feeling was lifted because He didn't carry it alone any longer. His burden for the hurting and confused was great, but that day he quick realized he wasn't alone in carrying it. He quickly discovered that he was surrounded by like minded people that loved God, and had the same burden that he did. So they joined together in their ministry. Moses learned that day that together is better.
If you're a true follower of Jesus, one thing you notice is how you see things in the world around you in a different light. The Holy Spirit gives us a new set of eyes. We began seeing things the way God does. We see the brokenness and hurt in a way we used to be blind to. Or, maybe we even used to notice it, but now it breaks our hearts. And, it may even weigh us down because some days, it feels like we are literally surrounded by pain and heartbreak. And, we feel called to action. But, if we're not careful, we can get this spiritual tunnel vision of sorts. And, what I mean by that, is we can begin to see it as "me against the forces of evil and darkness." We then attempt to take on this role of rescuer, healer, hero, and the only source of light in this dark world all on our own. Everybody's problems then become our problems. Everybody's sin issues becomes ours to solve. Every person we know that makes bad choices becomes ours to help them sort out. Everyone in need of direction and a word from God becomes our audience to listen to us. We're then tempted to see ourselves as some Christian superhero. One of those superheroes that seems to single handedly take on the world of evil around them with no help. See where we're going with this?
As Christians, we will be burdened by the lost, hurting, evil, and sin we see all around us. But the key to victory in these things, and the only way to not let these things weigh us down to the point of a mental breakdown, is found in the advice of Jethro to Moses. We can't do it alone. Ya'll, we were designed to take on the work of ministry all by ourselves. And, when I say ministry, that doesn't just include pastors and church staff. We're all in ministry. Every single Christian is a minister. When we develop a Messiah Complex of sorts, which says "if it's meant to be, it's up to me," we will very easily be overwhelmed. Besides, one pice of humbling truth we need to remember is this : God doesn't need us for anything. He doesn't. God can take care of the world's problems of evil, sin, and hurting all on His own. He actually did that by sending His son, Jesus, to this earth. When he died on the cross and was risen from the dead, he defeated death, sin, and evil once and for all. We are therefore surrounded by things that have already been defeated. It's just a matter of time before Jesus returns and wipes theses things all away for all eternity. All that being said, God doesn't need us to do His work. But, in His grace, He has chosen to use us to be His hands, feet, and more importantly, His voice to a world that desperately needs it. So, take a look around this Sunday morning at church. These are your brothers and sisters in Christ. And, they are your coworkers in Kingdom work. They have the same burdens you do for the world. They hate sin and evil just like you do. And, they may even struggle with feeling like it's too much for one person to bear. Just like you. That's because it is. One Man came down from heaven and has already changed the world, so we don't have to try. We must link arms with those God had blessed us with, the Church, and do the work God has given us together. We must share our burdens with each other. We must share the burdens we see in the world around us with each other. and most importantly, we must do Kingdom work together. So don't feel like it's all up to you to fix. It's really not. God has it all under control. His will for you is to take on the darkness along with other Christians, in His power. Together is better.
-Brandon Walker