Moses learns an important lesson that life is too great to do alone.
Scripture focus: (Exodus 18:17-18, ESV)
Just a few days prior, I had been invited by a group of my co-workers to go on a morning hike. From the campsite I worked for at the time, you could see the peak of a hill with a brown cross on top. I often wondered as I worked from below about how to see that cross from the top of the hill. When I was invited to go see the top, the day of climbing that peak came with great curiosity and anticipation. As we gathered at our meeting space to depart the morning of the hike my excitement and anticipation quickly turned into a little bit of skepticism. I found out that I would be the only female on the hike and all the men arrived at the trailhead with large backpacks full of gear, machetes, and trekking poles. One even brought some rope. I came with no backpack, my hat, my sunglasses, a granola bar in my pocket, and just enough water for the duration of what I understood to be a short-morning adventure. I felt underprepared, but did not let the skepticism stop me and decided to proceed.
The beginning of the trail was quite wide until we began a section marked by a makeshift marker. From there the trail became narrow, then overgrown, and then overgrown and steep with a narrow ledge. As my anxiety began to consume me like the overgrown grove of manzanitas consuming the trail we navigated, my pace slowed, and my heart rate increased. I found myself in trouble and needing both of my hands to balance with each new step. I was now regretting that I did not bring my backpack to hold my water in or my trekking poles I own. The person I was watching navigate the challenging terrain in front of me began to slow in order to help me at my now unsteady pace. “You alright?” He called out to me.
I paused briefly analyzing the spot I was in as He turned around to retrace his steps back closer to me. I shouted back to Him between raspy breaths. “Uh—uh , no!” I found myself in a position from the ledge of this hillside where there was no way of navigating up it or navigating down myself. What was I thinking joining this group of men on this hike? How am I going to get back to camp? Should I turn around, should I continue? The thought of either option was increasingly growing daunting and overwhelming. As my co-worker came to my aid, He provided the solution. He unclipped His backpack and threw my almost empty bottle of water into His bag so I could have both hands free to navigate this tough spot. After resettling and clipping His pack, He braced Himself on the hillside and graciously gave me His hand to pull myself up with. I made it past the spot only because of His support. My thoughts stopped racing, and as my unsteady feet stopped shaking, we both knew how the rest of this hike was going to go. I had to accept the help as this hike was too great to do it alone.
Hand after hand of His support, I listened closely to my new guide and not my racing thoughts. As the narrow ledge only got narrower, He carefully gave instruction of where to put my feet and where to put my hands as we scrambled the loose rocks on the ledge that only seemed to be getting narrower. As I needed it, He would patiently pull my water out of His pack and give it to me to drink so my hands could stay free along the trail. After this slower pace and rhythm, we finally reached the peak.
As the sun shined on us from the top, I was squinting from its warm rays as I sat enjoying the view I had longed from below to see. “Now you’ll need these,” He laughed as He squatted down and handed over my sunglasses that I must have dropped in the dirt somewhere along the path. Checking in with me one more time before chatting with the others, He handed over an extra bottle of water from His load. I savored the water slowly as joy and relief came from reaching the top safely. He not only helped pick me up from the dirt on that hike, but He had also picked up my nearly lost shades too.
Principle 2: Life is too great to do it alone.
When I reflect on this hiking story and the hand after hand of support from my guide, I am grateful as I am reminded that life is too great to do alone. When we find ourselves in challenging terrains such as the rocky ledge I stood on disoriented, I am reminded that we all need help from time to time. Moses is an example from scripture who found himself in a challenging position in need of help navigating a heavy situation.
As Moses sought to be the judge of the people and uphold the law, too many people were bringing complaints and grievances to Him. Seeing the state his son-in-law was in, Moses’s father-in-law Jethro spoke up,“What you are doing is not good.You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone.” (Exodus 18:17-18, English Standard Version). Moses found himself in a position of leadership with too heavy of responsibility and needed a sound voice of instruction to help him navigate a challenging situation.
Moses opened himself up to hear correction and accept help for the thing that was too overwhelming and heavy for Him. As Moses listened, Jethro gave clear instructions, “Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.”
The solution Jethro provided required Moses to surrender some of the control and appoint others. Moses would give instructions to these leaders and let them carry out the responsibilities He and The Lord equipped them to do. This passage not only highlights the counsel given between Jethro and Moses, but highlights the way Moses would now be called to support those He appointed to lead. Jethro’s instructions continued, “And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.” (Reference). The instructions Jethro gave was a model of mentorship for Moses to follow. Moses was instructed to support His newly appointed leaders and the people with greater matters. The other smaller matters, He was supposed to surrender His power and control to let His newly appointed leaders handle these matters after training them up to lead. In this account, Moses is a mentee but also a mentor to many.
Though this an account from the Old Testament from many years ago, it has some fresh applications for mentors and mentees today. The first application is that life is too great to do it alone. Moses was a leader who was overwhelmed and overworked. The solution Jethro provided for overworked and burnt-out moses, was that of mentorship. Moses’s model of mentorship would take place through appointing, equipping, and supporting new leaders in the way they ought to go. From the passage we know that these men were already men of the Lord. The job given to Moses was to appoint and then stand by to support these people in their efforts already being made.
Relationships like Moses and Jethro as well as Moses and His people matter in the kingdom of God. When another believer is in crisis, the Lord calls His people to support one another by rejoicing with those who rejoice and mourning with those who mourn (Romans 12:15-16, ESV). Biblical mentorship is not a dictatorship. A biblical model of mentorship embraces and supports one another. The support of a biblical mentor is consistent when needed and then stands back and allows for those under them to serve. Biblical mentors are willing to train up other servant leaders by investing deeply and then holding them loosely as those whom they’ve trained serve as unto the Lord. By offering a patient hand of support during overwhelming and troubles times, mentors can make a difference and make disciples.
Questions for Mentors: Are there a multitude of tasks that are overwhelming to me? If no, why? If yes, can I trust and support someone under me with this task?
Questions for Mentees: Mentee question: What is something in your life that is overwhelming? What overwhelming task or circumstance could use the help and advice from a mentor?