“I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand.”
The Finish
Moses names genuine, honest exhaustion here, worth noticing directly, not the confident, capable leader of earlier chapters, but a man genuinely, honestly overwhelmed, too heavy for me, worth holding as scripture’s own permission for this same honesty in your own long, accumulated years of faithful, ongoing labor.
This second movement, turning from this book’s exploration of faithfulness across a whole life toward honest weariness that faithfulness, sustained long enough, genuinely produces, opens with this crucial permission. Long obedience is not exempt from genuine exhaustion. It often, honestly, produces it.
Notice God’s own response to this honest cry, in the verses that follow, does not rebuke Moses for this exhaustion, but provides seventy elders to genuinely share the burden, worth holding as God’s own actual pattern, not shame for weariness honestly named, but practical, genuine help provided in response.
Whatever this is too heavy for me currently describes in your own long, faithful labor, voice it honestly today, the way Moses voiced his own, trusting God’s own gentle, practical response, not harsh rebuke for reaching this honest point, but genuine help, the way it came for Moses, still, actually available for you.
Finish Well
- Voice honestly today whatever currently feels too heavy for you to bear alone.
- Trust that this honest cry is met with practical help, not harsh rebuke, the way Moses’s own was.
- Consider who might function as your own seventy elders, genuinely sharing a burden currently too heavy.
Prayer
Lord, like Moses, I am not able to bear this alone, it is too heavy for me. Give me the practical help you gave him, not harsh rebuke for this honest, exhausted cry. Amen.
Carry this today
Long, faithful labor can genuinely produce exhaustion. This honest cry is met with practical help.