We Cannot Do It Alone

"Moses' father-in-law replied, "What you are doing is not good. 18 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

When we read this chapter a few weeks ago for our small group study, it really left an impression on me. One of the reasons is because we see that later on, Moses actually listens to this advice. He payed attention to what his father-in-law told him, and he did delegate responsibility to others. He shared the load and had a much easier time because of it. But the second reason it struck me was simply because of how true it is about most everything. We cannot do it alone.

You can apply this to most anything. There's a reason that God didn't design as us solitary creatures, and that is because we need other people. We need help from time to time. We've all heard the old proverb that "it takes a village to raise a child" and it really does. I see it all the time, I see the lessons that my children pick up from other adults that they would never pick up from me. Parenting itself is a task best suited to a pair of people. Sure, there are single parents, but I will bet you that when those parents need to make a major decision, they turn to their parents or other relatives in those times of need.

And we cannot minister to the world alone. One person could not run a church all by themselves, that would most certainly lead to a burn-out. There's a reason that there are different people gifted in different areas of ministry, yet the ministry leaders don't really do their work on their own, they have the other people to lean on and ask for help should the need arise. And because we have this great example of leadership reaching out for help in Exodus, we need not feel any shame in asking for help ourselves. In fact, the moment when you do finally ask for help, could be the moment that someone has decided they are willing to serve. Not only do you get the help you so desperately need, but the other person gets the opportunity to serve.

And we lean on others in times of need. When one of our brothers or sisters are in trouble, we are there to help support them and back them up. Without each other, we wouldn't have that support system, and we'd quickly crumble under the enemy's hand. And when I think that God created us in his own image...he must be some kind of social character. :-)