A WORD FOR TODAY, February 6, 2026
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, February 6, 2026
“Therefore, putting away falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. ‘Be angry, and don’t sin.’ Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath, and don’t give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no more; but rather let him labor, producing with his hands something that is good, that he may have something to give to him who has need. Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but only what is good for building others up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear. Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:25-32, WEB
I was reading Exodus 18 during my devotional time the other day, and this verse jumped out at me. “Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and bowed and kissed him. They asked each other of their welfare, and they came into the tent.” I’ve read this verse many times, but this simple, ordinary moment struck me like it had never before. “They asked each other about their welfare.” How often do we do this during the day? How many people do we ask, “How are you doing?” Truthfully, we don’t always answer it honestly, do we? “I’m fine,” we say. Or we come up with some flippant response like, “I woke up on the right side of the grass this morning.” These are not bad responses, they might even get a laugh. Yet, we rarely say what we really want to say, “Well, my muscles hurt, my kids are driving me crazy, my husband made me angry today.”
What struck me about this verse, however, is that it is even in the Bible. “They asked each other of their welfare,” doesn’t seem very important, spiritual. Why should we care that Moses and Jethro had a common moment that we all experience so often during our day? And, quite frankly, it is a moment we don’t always look forward to. This one verse sets us up for the conversation that was about to happen in the tent.
Jethro heard that Moses was overworking himself. He knew Moses needed the love and encouragement of his family. He knew Moses needed a piece of advice about how to govern the people of Israel. God knew that Jethro needed to see for Himself that He was the LORD.
Moses went to Egypt after he saw the burning bush, but he did not take his wife and sons with him. He sent them to Jethro. The demands on Moses for the next year or so were too great to also be concerned about the safety and comfort of his family. We might think it was cruel to send them away but ask any military family about the need for those separations. Can you imagine taking your wife and children to the front lines in a war? My husband was never gone for longer than a month or so, but some military members are sent for a year or more.
Moses took on the responsibility for an entire nation, probably more than a million people plus their livestock. He struggled with Pharaoh and others along the path of the Exodus. He struggled with the people when they grumbled about every inconvenience. He even struggled with God, crying out to Him in his uncertainty about his ability to govern those miserable people? God answered Moses whenever he turned to Him, but the story from Exodus shows us that He also used people like Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law to encourage him and set him on a better path. During the conversation in the tent, Jethro told Moses he didn’t need to do it all himself. He advised Moses to choose other leaders to help. “Delegate!” The story also shows us a return for Moses to a more ordinary existence. He was restored to his family. Don’t we all need people to whom we can turn, to honestly confess what is not good about our day?
This story is an example of kindness to others, sharing and receiving helpful advice that makes our world a better place. Paul teaches us in today’s letter to the Ephesians that we are to embrace the ordinary moments to build up relationships with one another so that we can support each other in our struggles in this world. Many of our struggles are our own fault. Moses needed someone to encourage him to get help. We need someone to gently remind us of the life we are called to live as we wait for our great salvation. Be kind, tender-hearted, and forgive, because asking about our neighbor’s welfare might just open up the opportunity to share God’s grace with them to help them through their struggles.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276. Like the page to receive the devotion through Facebook. For information and to access our archives, visit http://www.awordfortoday.org.