The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. When his father-in-law saw all Moses was doing for the people, he said, “what is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?” Moses answered him, “because the people come to me to seek God’s will.” Exodus 18:13-15
Moses, called by God, faithful and true, wanted to use the gifts he was given for every single person in the Israelite clan. Now, if we were talking about 100 people, I could see this as doable. I may be able to go as far as 1000 people, but we are talking about 600,000 men alone, not including women and children (Exodus 12:37). There was no way Moses could handle all of their problems, but he tried and he sat in front of them from morning until night. But Jethro, his wise father-in-law, saw that Moses was doing way too much and recognized that he couldn’t do his best by trying to be ALL to everyone, so he guided Moses to seek wise people to help lead the Israelites.
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. Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the People’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. But select capable men for all the people — men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain — and appoint them as officers over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.
Exodus 18:18-21
Jethro didn’t denounce God‘s calling on Moses, he just helped him to see he couldn’t do it all and be able to fulfill the real call with all the other issues coming along. Moses was still the one God was speaking to and he was to teach God‘s will to the people, but after that he was to step back from the people and let others lead unless he was truly needed.
God doesn’t want one person to try and lead the whole world, that is unless that one person is His Son. Instead, He’s given each of us gifts and abilities that he desires we use to work together to lead others to His one main call.
When I was 17, and not fully following God faithfully, he placed a call on my heart to help women overcome the trials of their past and the difficulties of their present, so they could live fully for him. It’s taken years and tons of growth in him for me to recognize fully what he was saying, and I’m not completely there yet. But this one thing I do know is that he called me to minister and lead women closer to him, and that doesn’t mean every woman in the world can come to my door every day and I can sit, hear and help them all….There are too many women and too many problems. God has called me to just be obedient to the call with the women he brings into my life. If I can help one woman find healing in him, then they can help one more, and so on and so forth. In the end many lives are changed.
We can’t do this alone, but God didn’t call us to. He has placed people all over this world and given them each a specific purpose to fulfill the ultimate call… To make disciples of every nation.
Then Jesus came to them and said, “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Matthew 28:18-20
God has called us ALL for one purpose, but he’s gifted each of us individually in the call, so that none of us can do it ALL, but ALL of us can work together to fulfill the call.
Running 2 Fly 