3 January 2026
Faithful work can still hollow a man out. The scene shifts quickly in Exodus 18. Worship fades and the workday begins. Scripture says, “The next day Moses sat down to judge the people, and they stood around Moses from morning until evening.” The line does not move. The need does not slow. As Mark Penrith observed, “A weary queue of human need.” Moses is diligent. He is present. He is faithful. Yet faithfulness alone does not guarantee health.
Jethro watches carefully. He does not criticise the work itself. He questions the method. “What is this you’re doing for the people? Why are you alone sitting as judge… from morning until evening?” Moses explains himself. “Because the people come to me to inquire of God.” He mediates. He judges. He teaches. Mark captured it clearly. “Here is Moses’ threefold job description. Intercessor. Judge. Teacher. One man. Doing it all.” Good work. God’s work. Yet still too much.
Then comes the hard sentence. “What you’re doing is not good.” Jethro’s words cut because they are true. Scripture presses further. “You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you. You can’t do it alone.” As Mark said, “A faithful man. Doing good things. In an unsustainable way.” Moses is not rebuked for laziness. He is warned about limits. Redeemed men remain finite men.
This is where many of us stumble. We confuse exhaustion with obedience. We baptise overload as devotion. Yet God never asked Moses to carry every burden himself. Mark named the danger plainly. “His unique role was threatened by the burden it created.” The people suffer too when leaders burn out. Long lines. Slow justice. Shared weariness. God’s work suffers when God’s servants refuse to acknowledge limits.
This passage presses close to home. Work demands. Family pressures. Church responsibilities. You can stand from morning to evening and still fall apart inside. God’s design is not heroic isolation but shared responsibility. Identify one task that drains you each week. Ask whether it truly requires you. Or whether wisdom calls for help. Let your children see this. Let them hear you ask for help. Show them that strength is not independence. It is wisdom rooted in trust. As Mark reminded us, “Redeemed community is not sustained by the heroic endurance of one man. Not even a Moses.”
Why do we so often equate exhaustion with faithfulness?
Prayer:
Lord, give us humble hearts that recognise our limits. Teach us to trust You enough to share the load. Guard us from weary pride, and lead us in wise obedience. Amen.