Exodus 7:8-12 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands."
So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up--one on one side, one on the other--so that his hands remained steady till sunset.
Did you ever feel like it all depends on you? That the success of your (fill in the blank here - family, business, office, church, organization, project, program) falls on your shoulders. Some days, the days when things are going well, it feels good. At other times it’s just difficult. The responsibility weighs heavy on your mind and heart. You wonder, "How long can I keep this up?"
This was the situation for Moses. Not long after the Hebrews crossed the Red Sea and entered the Sinai Peninsula, they encountered the Amalekites. Moses’ role in this first battle was to hold the staff in the air. This was no mere gesture of support for his troops. The staff was the symbol of God’s power, and Moses used it to perform miraculous signs*. Most recently, he had struck the rock to provide water for the people at a place called Horeb (17:5).
As long as Moses held up his hands, they were winning. Moses, however, soon grew tired (I would, too, at 80+ years old), and his arms drooped. At this, the Hebrew troops experienced battle turnover. It didn’t take long to figure out that if they were going to win, Moses would need to keep his hands, staff and all, in the air.
What was Moses to do? First, he sat down. He rested. Aaron and Hur brought him a stone to sit on, and he rested his body. We weren’t made to go full out, pedal to the medal, throttles to the stops all the time.
I used to do some bike touring. I discovered that I could further by the end of the day if I took regular stops to get off, stretch, eat and drink. On the last day of a trip to PEI, I ignored this fundamental principle, running out of water and food. I paid as I turned into the wind on PEI for the last leg. What should have taken an hour took two and a half.
As in cycling, rest helps us go further in the journey of life. Is it time for a rest of some sort, before you get too tired to go on? Someone once said to me, "Its better to wear out than rust out." However, even an engine needs to stop long enough to change the oil. We need to recognize when it is time for rest.
Second, Moses got help. Aaron and Hur held up his hands when he got too tired. Why do we think we don’t need any help - that we are failures if we have to ask for help? I know I feel it deep inside me - that I’m not as good as the next person because I had to ask for help. What a load of manure that is!
I recently received an email from a friend, which I include here with his permission.
Someone I trust suggested I do this. Do what? ...Tell people you love and who love you that your arms are tired.
...I used to try and be a tough leader. Because that is what I saw growing up in a military environment for most of my life. Be tough. Be ruthless. Show no weakness at all. What was surreal was that I also was trained to be like that by the church. Show no weakness and keep everything to yourself. Leaders are like eagles, they fly high and they fly alone....
Right now as I type this there is an odd feeling pressing in on my chest.... I can feel something dark trying to weigh on me. Kind of like laying down and having something heavy placed on your whole body....
... The battle can be won. Dark agents have power to be sure, but it is limited, I know this in my head. My arms though. Faith. Keep the faith. But my arms are tired.
I applaud my friend Joseph for being real enough to admit he needed help. Is it time to ask for help?
Be ON FIRE
Troy
* For other examples of Moses using the staff, see Exodus 4:2,4,17; 7:9-12, 20; 8:5-6, 16-17; 9:23; 10:13; 14:16,21
This letter published Feb 28, 2005.