You ever wake up and not know what time it is? Perhaps you took a nap and woke up thinking it was the next morning, and were so disappointed to discover that it was still afternoon. Well, my sense of time has been suffering from severe “jet lag” all week. As you may know, Joanne and I went to China to chaperone a Stone Bridge High School trip and we got back last Saturday. We left Beijing, China on Saturday at 12:30 pm, took a non-stop flight for almost 14 hours, and landed at Washington Dulles on Saturday at 2:00 pm. Wait, what? Those times don’t add up. That doesn’t make sense. Which is exactly what my body has been telling me for the last three days! Actually it does make sense since Beijing is 13 time zones ahead of us and you cross the International Date Line to get there. But my body doesn’t care about time zones and date lines. It cares about rest! And now it feels worn out.

Welcome to Exodus 18. While Moses probably didn’t know much about time zones or date lines, he did know a lot about being worn out and desperately needing rest. Moses was on a fast track to burnout. And while he didn’t live in Northern Virginia, he could have. Because of our crazy pace of life, many people, including many conscientious Christians, are pushing themselves beyond safe limits with the hectic pace of their lives, the hours they work, and the responsibilities they take on. When that’s combined with a lack of sleep, exercise, good food, friendship, and a weekly Sabbath, it’s no surprise that the body and mind eventually say “Enough!” The exhausted and depleted body and brain drag down thoughts, emotions, and spirituality. Burnout is one of the leading causes of depression.

And so God sends Moses two things. And these two things have names. First, He sends Jethro to Moses who counsels him to get some help. Jethro tells Moses that he needs “able, trustworthy men who fear God” to help him rule over the people and make decisions. And then God meets that need by sending all those able, trustworthy men who fear God. Sometimes we need to get counsel to help us figure out what to do, where to go, and what decisions to make. But counsel by itself is not enough. We then have to implement the counsel we’ve received! In Moses’ case (and in ours), the counsel called for fellowship, community, and surrounding yourself with trustworthy people. And when you do that, you’re able to endure … and you’re able to be at peace. Both valuable things. So how do we do that? You’ll have to come Sunday to find out! See you then! Dr. Dave

As you know, we’ve recently lost one of those trustworthy men who fear God. As your Pastor, I’m encouraging you to demonstrate the kind of fellowship and community we have here at Potomac Hills. Please make every effort to come to the Visitation and Memorial Service for Rick Behrens. Visitation will be Thursday, March 31st from 1-4 and 6-8 pm at the Loudoun Funeral Chapel on Catoctin Circle in Leesburg. The Memorial Service will be at McLean Presbyterian Church on Friday, April 1st at 2 pm with a reception to follow. We expect there to be quite a few unbelievers and for them to see our whole church family serving together will be a great testimony to who we are and what we believe about the hope and grace found in Christ. I think Rick would be pleased by that. Thanks.