Bearing Together

Numbers 11:17
“And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.”

It is obvious from the interaction between God and Moses that both were becoming weary of the constant complaining of the children of Israel. Moses was overwhelmed with their complaining and the pressure of leading, and God was tired of their relentless complaining. God’s remedy for this whole situation was to give people to help Moses carry the load. God told Moses to appoint seventy elders to help him in carrying that load that “they shall bear the burden of the people with thee.”

This is a valuable lesson for every leader to learn. This principle that God established was important for Moses to keep from getting overwhelmed, and it was important for the people to have someone who was closer to them who could help them. There are several lessons in this verse for leaders that will help them if they will follow its advice.

First, you can’t do it alone. You will never be able to carry the load of leadership by yourself. Great leaders don’t do everything alone; rather, they direct others around them to help them in the load of the ministry. My friend, you will bring yourself to naught if you try to do the LORD’s work alone. God has surrounded you with many people who can help you if you will simply adhere to God’s counsel to Moses to let others help you in His ministry. If you don’t want to wear away, you would be wise to find those spiritual people and allow them to help you.

Second, God is there to help you carry the load. God said to Moses, “And I will come down and talk with thee there…” You will quickly become overwhelmed with the load of leadership if you don’t learn to take your problems to God. Prayer is the pressure release valve for the believer to dump their problems on God. A leader without a daily time of prayer is a stressed-out leader who finds themselves reacting in the flesh to the hurt of their people. If you don’t want to hurt those you lead, you are going to have to learn to take the problems of those you are helping to the LORD for His guidance and counsel to help you to help them.

Third, you mustn’t be afraid to give those helping you problems to carry. God said to Moses about those who were to help him, “…they shall bear the burden of the people with thee…” The leader who won’t let go to let others help them is the leader who frustrates those trying to help them. Many followers have become exasperated because what was given to them to do can’t be done because the leader won’t let go. Followers understand a leader overseeing responsibilities, but they don’t understand a leader who gives them something to do but won’t allow them to do it. My friend, take your hands off and let others help you. Stop trying to micromanage the leaders you lead. No, they won’t do it exactly like you, but they will help you to further the cause of Christ if you will allow them to help you.

You have a choice as a leader; you can either continue doing everything yourself and watch your ministry stagnate, or you can let others help you by giving them responsibilities and let them do it. It certainly isn’t easy taking your hands off something that you have done for a long time, but you will keep from frustrating followers to the point of quitting if you will let them do the job you have given them to do.

Author: Allen Domelle