A TIME FOR GOOD COUNSEL

I
t’s not hard to feel sorry for Moses in Exodus 18. As the only judge and leader for Israel, he was surrounded “from morning until evening” (V.13) by people who needed his help.

In fact, I’ve heard many people say that they even feel a bit like Moses must have done. We may not have a whole nation looking up to us, but we know what it means to have to help others and make tough decisions. It seems that we need to learn two life skills from Moses: a readiness to listen (V.24) and the willingness to accept help (V.25). Sometimes we don’t accept help because we don’t think we need it or don’t feel we can ask for it.

With Moses, and often with us, life moves so quickly and makes so many demands on us (VV.13-15) that we barely have time to react—let alone to take a step back to think about it or go to someone else for advice. Perhaps this is one reason the Bible reminds us to surround ourselves with people who will offer their experience and wisdom even when we’re too busy to ask for
it. We see this in the story of what Jethro did for Moses when he told his son-in-law to share some of his responsibilities (VV.17-23).

Don’t be overwhelmed when there’s lots going on. Instead, look for godly advice from your Christian friends, youth leader or Christian family, and then follow through on what you are told.

To pray about . . .

Father, give us ears to listen to the advice of others when things are hard. Help us to remember that we don’t need to tackle life alone.

IF YOU DON’T ASK FOR HELP, YOU WON’T GET IT.

YouTh Edition – Our Daily Bread Ministries