Stress Test Devotional May 4
May 04, 2024
EXODUS 32:11-14 | 11 But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ” 14 And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.
Empathy is a product of insight and attitude, formed by experience and imagination. Moses had empathy for the waywardness of the Israelites. His experience on the run without a clan or a setting reinforced for him the fear the Israelites had in being a people without a territory of a settled life. As a father, he understood the way parents become risk-averse, given the vulnerability of their children. Imaginatively, he had to consider the way slavery impacted the Hebrews, creating dependence and fear.
Moses advocated for Israel before God, pleading for a second and third chance for them, despite their unfaithfulness and resistance. He knew it was harder to get Egypt out of the Israelites than the Israelites out of Egypt.
Are you an empathetic leader?
If so, what experiences have helped you become one?
Ask God for greater empathy.
