Counseling Others for God

So I took a long hiatus from blogging because it's becoming a drudgery and I'm having a hard time finding joy in the work God has placed before me. In Exodus 18, Moses meets up with Jethro, his father-in-law. Here we see three things about counsel and the intentions with which we must pursue or give them with.

1. In counseling others, we must be open with each other with the intent of glorifying God in truth, not in deceit . In this passage, Moses' recounts God's provision during the Israelite's escape from Egypt. Usually however, when we tell someone about how God is working in us we leave out the small dark times we go through, or the complacent times we experienced. Even in our testimonies we use the more glorified version of the events of our lives to make it a more astounding. In this recounting, I believe Moses held nothing back from Jethro, and it's a reminder that the joy from pronouncing God's goodness comes not from our interpretation of God's sovereignty over the events of our lives but comes from God Himself, allowing us to enjoy in His work through another person.

2. Always have a God-centered approach to providing advice. Notice in verse 17-23, Jethro counsels Moses about how he is spending his time. The biblical idea behind this is that duty before God that precedes relationship with God is detrimental to the overall growth of a Christian. Now Jethro didn't give this advice because he felt Moses was doing a poor job at it. He gave this advice so that the Word of God will also be with the people and Moses can have more time to devote to God. And it's also important to discern between godly advice and worldly advice. Note that Moses distinguished between advice Israelite and the elders demanded of him, and the advice that Jethro gives to him. The difference in my opinion, is the center or intent behind the advice. Providing food, nourishment, and basic needs for a large group of people isn't bad advice, but the heart is one that distrusts where God has placed the Israelites in that moment in time. At the same time, doing less ministry work is not necessarily a bad thing, if the intent of doing so is to focus more on God. So the issue here is not the advice given, but the heart of the one giving the advice.

3. Heed godly counsel with reverence and obedience, with a promise of God's provision at the end. Jethro leaves with a note in verse 23. He promises that through his advice, God will 1. Direct Moses, 2. Moses will endure and 3. The people will go home satisfied/in peace. All three of these things are good promises, but the 1st one is what serves as an indicator of Jethro's advice being a godly one. Jethro gave advice, leaving it up to God both how Moses will handle it, how it will be received, and whether it will work or not. And the rest of the promises (two and three) is an assurance of the gifts of the spirit (can also be a reference of Romans 5:3-5). Often when we give advice or counsel we don't become involved in the process as well. Our role is constant prayer over that situation and for wisdom/discernment in future situations where we might be counseling to others as well.

A Frustrated People

So Lord-willing I'll be able to keep up my devotions this semester, much like I did last summer. Things picked up for me in terms of academics this past semester, and I've realized that in situations where there is a trade-off, what you value the most is what you hold on to. Although that's common sense, we tend not to want to think of it that way because more often than not, we give up what should be most valued for things of lesser value. In my situation, sleep and studies for the study of God's word.

We're often dealing with frustrations in our lives and we don't know how to go about approaching them. I believe Exodus 17 provides for us a picture of how God warns us against our frustrations and how to approach it.

Exodus 17 opens with the Israelites wandering the desert as God had instructed them to. They become frustrated with Moses because in obeying God, the Israelites believed they deserve certain provisions for doing so. Often times our own frustrations come from expectations placed on God stemming from our own self-righteousness. And it's important to point out that they turned to Moses about the problem, not God. At the same time, Moses frustrated that they have turned against him when they should've turned against God. This passage teaches is that obedience to God does not mean He will provide what we want or expect from obeying Him. We are not entitled to anything in obedience to Him, and this means that if there is something to be expected in following God, it would be hardship.

God does address the issue and He calls Moses to gather up the tribe leaders and strike a rock with his staff so that water can quench their thirst. The implications of this passage is staggering, at least from a practical perspective. First, God's calling to Moses is ridiculous and doesn't make logical sense, yet it yielded what God had wanted for the Israelites which was water. That says a lot about our own walk with God and how His calling will lead us in our walk with Him, that we'll be called to do something that we wouldn't see as rational or normal. Second, the fulfillment of God's calling to Moses is public, in that His glory is to be displayed for others to see. This isn't pompous because the credit is not to Moses but to God. That is why the staff was used, as a reminder that it was the God who delivered them out of Egypt that will provide for them.

The last verse deals with being a leader and praying. The power of prayer is magnified in this passage, demonstrated by the success of either Israel or Amelek in the battle when Moses raises his hands/doesn't raise them. Moses is leading the battle differently, and it speaks about how we view leadership. Leaders aren't always the one in the front lines fighting the battle. Leaders also need help and assistance in their work, much like Moses did. Lastly, leaders must turn to God with all things, not just on themselves. Joshua led trusting God behind Moses, and Moses led the prayer trusting in God's provision.

What's even more interesting is the perseverance in prayer, and this is how I believe God wants us to approach prayer. Prayer will be tiring and it will often lack because of our own inability to want to praise God out of our limitations. In this situation, Moses persevered in prayer even though he doesn't know the result of the battle. Often times we pray for things that we want to happen, rather than praying for things that can change us. Like the Israelites, we would rather pray for water and food, rather than pray that somehow through this situation satisfaction in God is magnified and His glory be the goal to which they get water or not. We would rather pray for a better life without worries, rather than pray for a life that glorifies God in suffering and pain. We are so caught up in our own needs that prayer is what we turn to the least, knowing that God's will is not aligned with what we pray for.