Through the lens of Man
Manna and water from the rock
Moses struck the rock and water came out for the people. Read that again. The man’s strike was for the people’s drink.
This is the picture of mature spiritual leadership for a man. The blow he takes — the burden he carries, the hard work he does, the difficult thing he confronts — is for the people downstream of him. He does not strike the rock for himself. He strikes it so his wife, his kids, his team, his church can drink.
Most men I know carry hard things alone and do not understand they are doing it for someone. They feel like the burden is just a burden. The Father says no. The strike is for the drink. Your hard week is for your wife’s flourishing. Your difficult parenting decision is for your kid’s future. Your hard prayer is for someone else’s life.
The blow becomes water for someone else.
One small thing today: name the hard thing you are doing this week. Then name who you are doing it for. Connect the strike to the drink. Most men carry burdens better when they remember the burden is making someone else’s life possible.