At times, I think all of us carry burdens that God never intends for us to carry.
Perhaps now, even today as you’re reading this article, you are laboring under some heavy burden that God in His mercy and by His strength wants to lift off of you. I believe by the power of the Spirit of God you can be set free today.
One of those burdens is what I call the burden of self-imposed overwork.
In our hard-driving world, I meet so many people who are burning the candle at both ends. Some are businessmen, some are moms, some are preachers. But what they all have in common is that they are overworked and are wearing themselves out.
Perhaps this describes you. If so, you are going to end up paying a price physically, emotionally, and in other areas, that you can’t afford to pay. You can’t continuously overwork yourself and not suffer for it.
So what do you do if you are laboring under the burden of self-imposed overwork?
I think we can find the answer in Exodus 18:13–18. In this passage, we find Moses stretched to the limits, determined to fulfill what he thought was his duty alone…to judge the people.
And so it was, on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening. So when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?”
And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. When they have a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.”
So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good. Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself.”
Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, sees him toiling under this burden and provides some crucial advice…advice you and I need to follow. He tells him to delegate…
“And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you” (v. 22).
If you’re like Moses and are carrying the self-imposed burden of overwork, you need to realize you can’t do it all. You need to delegate.
It’s a glad day when you realize you can’t do it all and you can’t be it all. Especially if you’re the type who wants to have your finger in everything, you need to share the load. You need to let other people do things. Otherwise, you may not live out the full span of your life.
Are you carrying an unnecessary and harmful burden today? Whatever it is, you can get out from under that weight and live the life God wants you to live.
