Carry them as a nurse
Moses, crushed by the weight
Crushed by the relentless complaints of a whole nation, Moses cries out to God in raw exasperation: did I conceive this people? Did I give them birth, that you tell me to carry them in my arms as a nurse carries a nursing infant? He is overwhelmed by the sheer weight of carrying people who never stop needing. It is one of the most honest moments in all of Scripture about the burden of leadership.
But buried in his complaint is the truth about the job. Leaders are, in fact, called to carry people — to bear them like a nurse bears an infant, with all the constant, exhausting, thankless tending that implies. Moses found it too heavy to carry alone, and God's answer was not to lower the level of care but to share the load among seventy others. The weight of carrying people is real, and a leader who feels crushed by it is not necessarily failing. But the load is meant to be shared, not denied. You are called to carry them — and you were never meant to carry them alone.
“Can a woman forget her nursing child? Yes, these may forget, yet I will not forget you.”
— The LORD, of his unforgetting care — Isaiah 49:15 (WEB)
Shepherding means carrying people, sometimes a crushing load. The honest leader admits the weight, keeps bearing it — and shares it, because it was never meant to be carried alone.
“Have I conceived all this people? Have I brought them out, that you should tell me, Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing infant?”
Moses was honest about being crushed by the weight of the people. A leader formed here neither denies the burden nor tries to carry it solo. The inner work is bearing real weight while refusing to bear it alone.
Accept that carrying people is part of the calling, and feel free to admit when it is heavy. Then share the load, as God had Moses share it among seventy. Keep the level of care high while distributing the weight.
Leaders either deny the weight of carrying people or insist on carrying it all alone until they collapse. The blind spot is treating an unshared, crushing load as a sign of faithfulness rather than a setup for failure.
Name the heaviest part of carrying your people right now. This week, share that specific load with someone, instead of bearing it alone.
Carrying people — bearing them like a nurse bears an infant, with constant, exhausting, thankless tending — is genuinely heavy, and even Moses found it too heavy to carry alone.
Are you carrying your people as you are called to — and have you let others share a load that was never meant to be carried alone?