Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…
“While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them. Moses commanded Joshua, “Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand.”
So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up.
So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.
Looking back now, from where I sit this morning, through the past few months, it seems fairly obvious. And I suppose were I not so busy on a number of different fronts I would have noticed that they were there all the while. People, that is, in each area and some in more than one, consistently and quietly supporting what I was doing.
When we come upon this moment in scripture as recorded in the passage in Exodus above, Moses had been running on adrenaline for some time. Although he always felt ill-equipped to do what God had called him to do, he had taken on the responsibilities God set before him and led the Israelite people out of the slavery they experienced in Egypt. Across the Red Sea through the power of God, into the Desert of Shur, to Elim, and into the Desert of Sin by way of the less traveled “Way of the Sea” along the expanses of the Red Sea, Moses led his people.
And a happy lot they often were not—grumbling and complaining about their plight, wondering if they shouldn’t just go back to Egypt—at least there they knew what they had–slavery. And in his role leading them toward the Promised Land, Moses became weary, not only physically, but also emotionally from the strain of responsibility and the constant criticism, lack of support, and lack of commitment to the vision of the Promised Land which God had set before them.
And when he needed strength and some help in helping Joshua in the battle against the Amaleks, Moses found it in none other than his brother Aaron and long-time companion Hur. They came alongside him and offered encouragement and strength so that he could continue to lead his people in the way they should go, and as God had called him to do. They simply came to him and held his hands up—one on each side—so that he could direct and encourage Joshua and his people in the battle against the Amaleks. It was a significant and symbolic moment typifying all the other times they had been there to assist and support his leadership in the journey from Egypt toward the Promised Land.
We’ve all been there, finding ourselves rooted in some leadership capacity or another that was beginning to take its toll on us physically and emotionally. Maybe it’s as a leader in your home whether as father or mother, assuming different and complimentary roles. Maybe it is at work as an employer, a supervisor or an employee. Perhaps you were called to leadership in a church, a school, within charitable organizations, or in a sports environment especially in a setting as a leader or member of a high impact team.
Wherever it has been, you know that at some point along the way we all need an Aaron and a Hur to come alongside us in the battle. We all need people to encourage us, support us, walk alongside us, sustain us and lift our hands and our spirits, always, but especially when the energy level gets low and the walls get higher and the voices of criticism louder. People who remind us that we are on the right track, and shine a light on the way we were going, when the vision grows dim. And we need to be those for others as well.
In my recent days there have been people helping to hold my hands in the air. My bride is always there. My son, and daughter-in-law, have done that too. But there have been many others rising up and stepping forward to lift me up. That has been the case throughout my life, even though I haven’t always noticed them at first. And I’ll bet if you stopped and thought about some of those exhaustive and difficult moments in your life, you, too, would remember those who have been there as well helping to hold your hands up so you could do what you were called to do, as you regained energy, strength and focus.
It makes you want to never throw in the towel, knowing there are others who will help to keep your hands high in the air. Others who will walk with you and support you as you answer the call of God on your life to lead, to cast a vision, to call others to become all they can be, to inspire them to reach with enthusiasm to the hope of a better day with and for the God who loves us and always leads us.
Who’s lifting your hands up?
Whose hands are you helping to lift?
Either way, it’s a game-changer!
In His Name—Scott
Copyright 2013. Scott L. Whitaker. All rights reserved.
