TEXT: NUMBERS 11:14–16 NKJV
[14] “I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me.
[15] If You treat me like this, please kill me here and now—if I have found favor in Your sight—and do not let me see my wretchedness!”
[16] So the Lord said to Moses, “Gather to Me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them. Bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you.”
Discussion
Today’s devotional encourages us to pray to God instead of complaining about our circumstances. Our text shows that Moses complained to God about the children of Israel. He told God that the burden of leading the people of Israel was too heavy for him to bear. He asked God either to kill him or to remove the responsibility from him so that his weakness would not be exposed.
God did not kill Moses. Instead, He transferred the grace that was upon him to seventy other men. How could one man carry what was later distributed among seventy people and yet not become empty afterward? Moses may not have realized how much God had placed within him until seventy men received from his spirit.
I believe Moses complained to God because he thought he was exhausted and would not be able to continue with the task ahead. There are very important periods in our lives during which we must be careful about the decisions we make and the words we speak:
1. When we are tired – 1 Kings 19:4 (Elijah prayed that God would take his life.)
2. When we are hungry – Genesis 25:30 (Esau sold his birthright because he was hungry.)
3. When we are burdened – Matthew 26:39 (Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane.)
4. When we are blessed – Daniel 4:30 (Nebuchadnezzar became proud because of his achievements.)
5. When we are happy – Matthew 14:6 (Herodias daughter danced before Herod, leading him to make a rash promise.)
Although it is natural to become tired at times, do not allow your weariness to make you say things or act in ways that are contrary to God’s plan for your life. Moses could have prayed differently. He prayed as though God did not know his capacity, as if he needed to explain to God what God did not know.
Brethren, we must be careful when carrying out God’s assignment. God will never give us an assignment that we cannot handle or one that is too great for us. All we need is to access the grace He has made available for the work.
Declarations:
I receive today every grace that is available from God to do whatever He asks me to do, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Light Up Christian Fellowship
