Lord, Help Me Be Humble Part 1: The Blessing Of Humility.

Lord, Help Me Be Humble (The Blessing Of Humility)
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Key Verses:
Numbers 12:3, NIV (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)
Psalm 25:9, NIV He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.

9/25/18
I have been listening to the Bible being narrated by George W. Sarris on Bible Gateway. This has been such a great experience! Wish I had started this a long time ago – I love it! 🙂

This morning, I listened to Exodus 18 after I dropped the boys off at school. I was transported back to the time of Moses and the people of Israel, after their dramatic Exodus from Egypt. Moses had been chosen to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt, God constantly spoke to Moses, instructed him, guided him, and performed many amazing miracles through him.

It was an extremely busy time, and Moses had a lot of responsibilities! During this time, Moses’ Father-in-law (Jethro) came to visit, and Moses was delighted to have him. He visited with his Father-in-law, chatted with him, and was encouraged by him. And then he went to work! When Jethro saw all that Moses was doing, he offered some advice on how to do it better, so that he wouldn’t wear himself out.

Here are the key scriptures from the story:

Exodus 18:7-8, NIV So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent. Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved them.

Exodus 18:9-12, NIV Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. He said, “Praise be to the Lord, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.” Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.

Exodus 18:13-16, NIV The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?” Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”

Exodus 18:17-22, NIV Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. But select capable men from all the people – men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain – and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”

Exodus 18:23-27, NIV Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves. Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.

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I love this story. What a beautiful and practical reminder of the blessing of humility! Moses was #1 in all of Israel! After God was Moses! Moses had the ear of God, and God spoke with him constantly! God had used Moses again and again to perform mighty acts of deliverance and provision. God had blessed Moses with wisdom, guidance and discernment. Yet Moses still took time to listen and consider advice from his Father-in-law, Jethro.

Moses did not shut Jethro down but allowed him to share his advice. Moses did not have a bad attitude, e.g imagine if Moses had shut his ears and heart to any advice Jethro wanted to offer him. Imagine if Moses had said or thought: “Do you know who I am? God talks to me all the time… I have constant access to God! If God wants me to do this any different, God will tell me himself. Leave me alone and keep your advice to yourself!”

Moses instead humbly listened to Jethro, considered his advice, and decided to follow his advice – it ended up being great advice! I also love how Jethro reminded Moses that this was his advice for Moses, but at the end of the day, Moses still answered to God. So, no matter what advice we receive, we must remember to take everything to God! God knows best, but sometimes God will help us learn certain things through others first. God can help us in so many different ways! 🙂 (See verse 22 above)

These scriptures reinforced some other great lessons for me, and I wanted to share them with you today:
1. I am reminded of how important it is to regularly take time to encourage one another and fellowship with one another, even when we are super busy doing important work! (See verses 9-12 above)

2. I am reminded that The Wise Listen To Advice!

3. I am reminded that We all need each other!

4. I am reminded that God will sometimes choose to help us through other people – in ways that we may never even have imagined!

5. I am reminded that Humility is the key to success!

Prayer for Today:
Dear Lord, Help Me To Be Humble!
Dear Lord, Help Me To Stay Humble!
Dear Lord, Help Me To Remain Humble!
In Jesus’ Mighty Name We Pray – Amen.

See also:
Prayer for God’s Guidance and Wisdom
The Calling of Humility
An Exciting Discovery

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Thanks for reading, Dear Friends!
Have a wonderfully blessed, stress-free, productive, and joyful day!
Much Love & Blessings,
Bomi Jolly ~ JollyNotes.com