Prayer: Father, may I heed the advice of Jethro today, as I believe his advice to be godly wisdom. Amen.
Reading: Exodus 18 key: vs. 21-22
21 But you should seek out capable men out of all the people—men who fear God, men of truth, who hate bribery. Appoint them to be rulers over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Let them judge the people all the time. Then let every major case be brought to you, but every minor case they can judge for themselves. Make it easier for yourself, as they bear the burden with you.
Attention: Burn out is a common issue amongst pastors. In an article titled: Understanding Burnout and Pastoral Burnout (March ’22 UNDERSTANDING BURNOUT AND PASTORAL BURNOUT: PRACTICAL PRINCIPLES & IMPLICATIONS FOR PASTORAL MINISTRIES – Campbellsville University ) the first mentioned cause for burnout in this article was, “Poor daily devotional habits.” They cite, “Eighty percent of pastors spend less than fifteen minutes a day in prayer, [and] seventy percent say the only time they spend studying the Word of God is when they are preparing sermons” (Exantus, 2011, p. 40; London & Wiseman, 1993). Ministers who have a positive attitude towards prayer and have a regular devotional life tend to experience lower levels of burnout from emotional exhaustion and cynicism, even while they maintain higher levels of personal accomplishment (Hessel, 2015; Turton & Francis, 2007). Might an increase and establishment of a daily journaling lifestyle in your life prevent burnout spiritually?
Jethro’s advice to Moses’ (his son-in-law) was to delegate the workload. We have all witnessed leaders who did everything themselves and burned out. May we avoid burnout in our lives by first establishing a daily lifestyle of time with God in His Word. There is so much more wisdom to garner from the Bible. Why do we choose not to seek the wisdom which is available to us by simply opening God’s Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to mentor us?
Secondly, as a great leadership principle, select and train your available leadership candidates. Jethro’s advice was to “seek out capable men”, “who fear God”, “men of truth,” “who hate bribery,” and appoint them according to their abilities. Oh, that these same qualifications would be used in the job descriptions for the highest judges in our land today.
I can testify to the value and benefit of a daily journaling lifestyle. My life has been transformed over the past 18 years since establishing a daily routine. I have a deeper love for God and His Word. I see things in His Word which I never saw years ago. I hunger and thirst for righteousness. I long for the living water and the bread of life.
I hope you will join me on this journey. I look forward to hearing from you about your experiences with the living God.
Action: I choose today to commit to a lifestyle of daily journaling time with God.
Yield: I give my heart, mind, and soul to Adonai.
Engage: I choose to engage with the Holy Spirit daily through the Word of God, the Bible.
Relationship: I choose to walk with Adonai in the Holy Spirit.
Prayer: Father, Your Word is life to me! I love to be in Your Word first thing every day. You get my day started off on the right footing. Your foundation is solid and true. I thrive on Your Word! Amen.
Memory Verse: Acts 17:28
28 for ‘In Him we live and move and have our being.’
As some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His offspring.’
Music Video: Kim Walker-Smith—Throne Room https://youtu.be/A1Ljl32SqRc
Remember, “Abide in Yeshua, today!”