Unite In Strength

January 8, 2021

And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

~Exodus 17:11‭-‬12~

Moses had a pretty intense calling on his life. He was in charge of convincing Pharoah to let the Israelites go. Once they were set free, Moses was in charge of leading them into the wilderness and preaching to them. He was then instructed day by day from God as to what to say or what to do for the children of Israel as they consistantly disobeyed. Moses was already an old man when the Father gave him his original task of leading the Israelites out of Egypt; you could imagine how tired and worn out he felt each day. Moses, like us, was only human. He battled fleshly issues just as we do today with frustration, anxiety, pain, exaustion and defeat. However, Moses kept pushing through year after year as God instructed him to. He felt the burden weighing on him as he heard complaint after complaint such as: The crossing at the Red Sea that the Lord seperated specially for them; "Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? (Exodus 14:11)

The bitter waters that the Lord eventually turned sweet; "And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” (Exodus 15:24)

The bread sent down from heaven; "And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

(Exodus 16:3)

The water which was sent forth from a rock; "And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”

(Exodus 17:3)

All of these examples are some complaints Moses endured that were difficult, but think about how God felt. Think about how these provisions came directly from the Father, like a child constantly yearning and complaining for everything; our Father has such patience like no other. He continued to supply time and time again even though the Israelites continuously forgot what He had just done prior to each miracle. We see this happening today, how easily humans are to forget everything He has done even after we see the amazing blessings He has brought forth. We see how easily people can be blinded by situations around them and cause their circumstances to outweigh eye witness accounts of God's glory. We see how selfish people's responses are even after being saved time and time again. The Lord never gave up on them, therefore He never gives up on us. We, like the children of Israel complain and harp on God, yet here we are still being blessed.

In this verse of today we can picture the scene as the Israelites battled against the Amalekites, Moses was instructed by God to hold up the rod of God in his hands to the sky in order for the Israelites to prevail. If Moses dropped his hands down the Amalekites would prevail. Moses began to feel the heaviness of being on the front line, in charge of people's win or loss, pushing himself to help the Israelites live. Moses was starting to experience the pressure of God's personal power and in a sense saw himself from His view, for lack of a better term. God basically said to Moses, "Now you see what I deal with daily." Not only did God give Moses the ability to hold this power and rise the Israelites up with his hands, but as Moses began to get tired God sent Aaron and Hur over to help Moses prop his hands up so they did not lose. Aaron and Hur put aside themselves and helped their brother; "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself." (Philippians 2:3)

We see how important it is to unite with our fellow brothers and sisters to fight as God instructs us to. The blessing of unity in a time of despair and uncertain endings are truely amazing for us to receive. Jesus connects us into His body in strength to edify our fellow brothers and sisters so that we are not having to endure in the natural alone; "for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." (Ephesians 4:12) Jesus never sends us out alone in any circumstance. Aaron and Hur were placed beside Moses as a gift from God to fight through to end to hold his hands up high. Our duty as believers in Christ is to help our family fight to the end as well. When we start to forget what God has done for us and start to have pity on ourselves we will not be in the right mind to fulfill the Lord's will; "in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

(I Thessalonians 5:18)

We should really take a step back and think about how God does all of these things for us on His own. He doesn't have anyone holding up His hands as He sends blessings down to millions of His children at a time. He did not receive help to stretch His arms out wide as He was nailed to the cross for our freedom. He does it all and He does not complain. Let us thank the Lord and remember to unite with Him in strength. Let us also reach out and accept the help of a brother or sister to hold our hands as we fight for our faith to the end of the battle. The Lord sends us people to connect into His body and prevail. Unity is a true gift and we must put it to good use for Jesus; "till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."

(Ephesians 4:13)

Only then when we unite and do our individual parts, will we receive the fullness of Jesus Christ.

The more we notice just how much He provides to us and protects us, the more contentment and trust we will feel towards Him each day. This is how we live in peace in the midst of chaos.

Prayer:

Gracious God, thank you for the many blessings You have sent to this world even as they were continuously forgotten. Thank you for never giving up on us. I am so thankful for Your detication to Your children and a chance of truely knowing You. I know I am alive in such a time as this, just as Moses was chosen for the time he was in to help guide the Israelites to the promised land. I know I am on my way to a new promised land and I vow to do everything in this life You have created me to accomplish as I venture there. Let all the things You use me for bring glory and honor to Your Name. Let those around me notice You. Thank you Jesus for my brothers and sisters sent forth in my life to hold my hands up to fight this good fight of faith, I know I am never alone. You are so good to me and I am content following You wherever You need me to go. In Your powerful Name I pray, Jesus Christ. Amen.