Surrounded.
God asks big things of his people sometimes. He may ask one boy to stand before a giant to become a beacon of faith to a generation. He may ask one woman to walk into a room that she, by the world’s standards, has no place in to speak for and save her people. He may ask one man to be the mouthpiece of freedom for God’s chosen people in captivity. But what I’ve noticed about these three instances and the rest of the biblical narrative is that these people are not doing these big things by themselves.
David had seven brothers as his biggest cheerleaders. Ester had Mordecia to lean on and process with. And Moses had Aaron when he couldn’t find the words to say. What I want us to see from these Old Testament examples is that God may ask big things of you. He may call us to something bigger than ourselves and we think that there is no possible way to accomplish it. But when God calls us to something big, he gives us everything we need to succeed. It may feel like he is stretching us to our limits so that we rely on his strength but he does not set us up to fall on our face in struggle. He calls us to fall on our face in surrender. Take a second today and thank Our Father for surrounding us with people who will fight for us, laugh with us, suffer with us, lament with us, and sometimes just sit with us. You are not alone.
In Exodus 17:8-16, Joshua was under attack. Moses had a word from the Lord to share with him in the midst of the battle. He not only had a word, but he had clear instructions from the Lord. He was to stand with his arms lifted high at the top of the hill overlooking the battle. As long as Moses kept his hands raised, the victory was their’s. But when his arms got tired and dropped, the Israelites began to lose. Seeing the weariness of Moses, Aaron and Hur stepped in. They held his arms up for him. What a beautiful picture! In the midst of a literal battle, two friends focused on the Instruction of the Lord stood alongside Moses.
I can imagine they were physically taxed, emotionally exhausted, and in anguish wondering when the end would come. But they stood, surrounding Moses holding him up until the battle was done. Thank you, Jesus for being our ultimate source of strength and thank you for providing people to hold us up when we grow weary. I’m extra grateful that the Lord in his grace and love shared Caleb with me to stand by my side and hold me up when life gets hard. Don’t forget the people that are fighting for you!
