In The Moment of Weakness

Numbers 11–12; 1 Corinthians 4:1–21 All leaders have their moments of weakness. But without them, they wouldn’t be stretching themselves (and that would mean they weren’t really in God’s will). It’s not that these moments shouldn’t happen, but we should turn to God when they do. Moses dealt with more than his fair share of people getting upset with his leadership, and he felt weak as a result. He didn’t always handle these situations correctly, but in Num 11 we see a glimpse into what an amazing leader he really was. The people were upset because they didn’t have meat to eat and were (once again) wishing they were back in Egypt. They were considering going against God’s will, and at least with their words, they were already doing so. Moses responded by telling God about his frustrations: “Moses heard the people weeping according to their clans … Then Yahweh became very angry, and in the eyes of Moses it was bad. And Moses said to Yahweh, ‘Why have you brought trouble to your servant? Why have I not found favor in your eyes, that the burdens of all these people have been placed on me?… If this is how you are going to treat me, please kill me immediately if I find favor in your eyes, and do not let me see my misery’ ” (Num 11:10–11, 15). God used this moment of weakness to create strength. He took the burden of leading off Moses alone and divided it among the people. In doing so, He made all the people accountable together for their actions (Num 11:16–23). God may have been angry about their disobedience, but that didn’t stop Him from listening to His servant, Moses, and graciously responding. God wants to interact the same way with us when we bring our burdens to Him. Paul demonstrates the type of security that comes from knowing you’re in God’s will. He, like Moses, understands his role in God’s will and reacts from that place rather than from pure emotion. He says to the Corinthians who are upset with him, “Thus let a person consider us as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries.… But to me it is a very little matter that I be judged by you or by a human court … Therefore do not judge anything before the time, until the Lord should come” (1 Cor 4:1, 3, 5). God is our judge; we are merely stewards. In what ways are you feeling weak as a leader? What would God have you do? Barry, J. D., & Kruyswijk, R. (2012). Connect the Testaments: A Daily Devotional. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.