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By Mike Caton

Exodus 2:16-17, “Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock. Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue and watered their flock.”

Moses has traveled to Midian and sat down by a well. I suppose that would be a natural spot to stop. Water was an important commodity in those days and in those places. And just like today, people tend to gather around water and places they can get the things they need. How long had Moses been in Midian? There is really no way to know, he might have just walked into the place and found this watering hole.

Or he might have been there for a while, maybe wandering around looking for a place to settle down. But at either rate, something interesting happens here.

Maybe this gives us a little more insight into who Moses really was. You know we all have traits that are born into us, call them mindsets or attitudes if you want to. But each of us has something that pushes us, drives us if you will. It seems Moses was a helper. Think about it. He came to the rescue of the Hebrew who was being beaten by the Egyptian. He later tried to reconcile two of his own people who were fighting. Now there come seven women to the well to water their flocks and they get driven away by the other shepherds, and here comes Moses again, to their rescue. Some of you will remember Mr. Rogers telling us when we were in trouble to look around for the helpers. And maybe some of us grew up to be those helpers. And it won’t be long before God calls Moses to be one of his helpers. And this will be in a way that Moses, and no one else can imagine.

It is always nice to have helpers around. But maybe we ought to think more about becoming a helper ourselves. There are countless ways, big and small, to do just that. You don’t need a special title, a particular job, or a unique skill. You just have to have a heart that sees other people and the situations they are in. And you need an ear that is willing to help them in whatever way you can. With the Mr. Rogers reference, this almost sounds like a lesson for children. But the truth is, there are far too few helpers in our world today. We all need to be willing to love and serve whoever we come across.

Father, help me be a helper today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Mike Caton is the preacher at Mount Olive Church of Christ in Belhaven. He volunteers at the Ponzer Fire Department and works full time with Hyde County EMS. If you would like to receive daily devotions in your inbox, email mikecaton@centurylink.net.

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