Today’s passage: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=exodus%2016-18&version=NIV
Today’s passage is yet another amazing illustration of our God as a provider. In the wilderness, he produced a daily supply of manna to eat and brought forth water from a rock to drink. He continued to build a faith in His people, teaching them that they could count on and trust in Him. We also see God as a different kind of provider. We see him provide for Moses by using other people in his life. God equips Moses with a community to pray with him and with a wise mentor to give good counsel.
In chapter 17 we see God fighting another battle for His people when the Israelites are attacked by the Amalekites. Moses comes up with a battle plan. First, he sends Joshua to gather some men and fight the Amalekites, but he knew that wouldn’t be enough. He needed a two pronged attack, so he armed himself with prayer. He stood on the hill during the battle and lifted his hands to the heavens with the staff of God in hand and he prayed. He knew that this battle would not be won without God. God had shattered his enemy before, and Moses knew that it would be God who would lead them to victory against the Amalekites.
Notice in this battle, the amount of community involvement. Not only did Joshua choose men to fight with him against the Amalekites, but Moses, chose Aaron and Hur to pray with him. Exodus 17:11 says “As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.” But Moses couldn’t possibly hold his hands up in prayer during the entire battle. Verse 12 & 13 go on to say “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. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.” This is such a beautiful picture of support! These are the kind of people I want to surround myself with. Friends of strong faith who will hold me up when I’m in the middle of a battle. Friends who will stand beside me and help me lift my hands up in prayer when I grow weary. Imagine if Moses had the kind of friends that Job had. They might have discouraged him by saying “you’re in this wilderness battle because you’re a bad leader and God is punishing you.” Or even worse, what if Moses had a wife like Job. She might have said “Curse God and die, I’m tired of this battle”. Instead, God surrounded Moses with people of faith who would support him as he reached out to God.
We see another illustration of the importance of wise Christian friends in chapter 18 when Jethro visits with Moses. He saw that Moses was falling into the trap of overextending himself. Moses was wearing himself out acting as judge for all of the people. Jethro gave Moses some wise advice: Delegate; you can’t do it all; you’ll wear yourself out and then you’ll be no good as their leader (Ex 18:17-23). If only we all had a mentor like Jethro to step in and point out when we are heading down the path of wearing ourselves out. Whether you’re running a Bible study, acting as team mom, caring for a parent or raising a child, it can be easy to wear yourself out if you don’t choose some trustworthy, god fearing people to rally around you and help lighten your load. Pay attention to the people God puts in your life. He puts them there for a reason!
It is so important that we surround ourselves with wise and faithful mentors and friends. I know that when I first moved back to Houston after a 3 year stay in California, I prayed that God would provide me with some good Christian girlfriends and he did so abundantly. I am so blessed that when I am in a period of wilderness, I can call on my friends to hold me up and stand beside me in prayer. If you are lacking in a circle of Christian friends, pray that God will provide you with friends and a mentor to support you in your walk. Pray that he will open doors to a community of faith and bless you with a circle of sisters or a band of brothers that will give you godly counsel and support you in your battles. This is a prayer that God loves to fulfill. I will be praying for you too!
Today’s post submitted by Kelly Coxe
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Really good point. Thanks Someone told me this after a personal fast to the Lord. This is the message they realized after their fast: "When our desire to serve the Lord is greater than our desire to know the Lord, we have backslidden in our heart"
ReplyDeleteJesus showed us the balance between knowing the Lord and serving the Lord. A real trap for Christians. We get so caught up in serving we lose our intimacy with the Lord.
Luke 10:39-42
39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word.
40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me."
41 And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.
42 "But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."
Mary was doing the right thing! So where is the balance between sitting at Jesus' feet or out serving the Lord?
One of my favorite verses is the last part of
Dan 11:32. It talks about the last day Christians ... but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.
We know the Lord. We sit at Jesus feet ie Bible reading, prayer, mediation on His Word, fellowship with Holy Spirit. As are result we become strong ie Full of the Holy Spirit, strong in our zeal for the Lord, strong in our spirit to obey thus we are able to withstand the wiles of devil then we do great exploits or works. Our works will accomplish God's will for our life in our daily affairs of life. Not so much "going out to do some great thing" but rather as we go about our mundane, daily life we see the Lord using us to help others around us.
KNOW BE DO as Daniel 11:32 says
Kelly, thanks for your reference to Jethro!!
ReplyDeleteI recently referenced Jethro as well, in the capacity of needing help from others, and from the standpoint of not being able to carry out judgement or law without a strong system in place and without help from many other people...At any rate, this is a great topic, and the "balancing act" of our Christian lives is a subject which could be debated at length.
**I must be careful not to fall into another trap that I personally feel is not discussed nearly often enough: Yes we all need to draw close to the Lord(scripture tells us when we draw near Him, He draws near us) and to know the Lord. However, without balance in the interpretation of these truths, any of us can become VERY INACTIVE IN OUR WITNESSING AND MINISTERING FOR JESUS!!!
If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say,"he or she is just trying to earn their way into Heaven"...or,"they need to slow down before they get worn out", or what-have-you...--> More times than not, upon examining the faith and the Christian walk of the individual(s) who may make such comments, I see inactivity, nothingness, and nothing much more than a life filled with idolatry.
**As James taught, faith without works is dead.
Yes I need to be still and know that He is Lord, but my ongoing prayer for myself(daily basis) is for me NEVER to grow weary, apathetic, or complacent because if I spend too much time in meditation, I will miss opportunities to be of service to God and to man.
**Being that most people are ruled by fear(at least to some extent; to a great extent with most), one of my favorite verses which speaks to the part of my mind responsible for my "common sense" is 1Peter 1:13-->Gird your minds for action...1:14->As obedient children do not be conformed to former lusts...1:15-->be like the Holy One, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;...
**I heard a wonderful sermon from Dr. Young on 1Peter, in which he said that one aspect of holiness is availability.
**Christianity is about expanding the kingdom of God, and I must have a will to carry the message. This requires a sacrifice of time and much energy.
Peace and love!!!