Know Your Limits

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. (Exodus 18:17-18)
 
Have you ever been riding in the car with someone, and it was clear that they were lost, but they wouldn’t pull over and ask for directions because they didn’t want to admit they didn’t know where they were going? That’s a frustrating place to be right? If the person would just ask for help, you’d get where you were supposed to be going much more quickly and efficiently.  
 
Well, it might be easy to point the finger at that person and wonder why they don’t ask for help, but if we think about, there are areas of our lives we don’t ask for help because we are too stubborn or proud to do so. We reach our limit but we’re afraid to admit we can’t do everything, so we run ourselves into the ground trying to prove we can handle things when in reality, we’re drowning.  
 
Please hear me. It’s okay to ask for help. It's okay to say “no” to people every now and then. It’s okay to say I’d love to, but I can’t right now. It’s okay to admit to yourself and others that you don’t have the capacity to do it all yourself. I know you’re smart. I know you’re educated. I know you have a fancy job with a big title, but it’s okay to admit that you’ve reached your limit.  
 
Moses had to understand that. He was leading two million people in Numbers chapter 11 and Exodus chapter 18, and he got overwhelmed and stressed out. He said, “I can’t carry all these people by myself.” He got overwhelmed because he bought into the myth of invincibility; and as he sat there in Exodus 18:14, he tried to answer every problem the people brought to him. He tried to solve every issue they had. But one day, his father-in-law Jethro came up to him and said, “What you are doing is not good. You are going to wear yourself out for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone.” And essentially Jethro told him he needed to get some help.
 
There are times when we all need to take Jethro’s advice. We need to learn to ask for help when we need it, understanding that humility and knowing your limits is not weakness. So, what do you need help with? What do you need a break from? What boundaries do you need to set? My hope is that you’ll take the time today to think through these questions and take the necessary steps to get the help and assistance you need so you no longer have to walk through life burdened and overwhelmed.