Coming Alongside - The whole idea of helping each other, of physically coming alongside and working with one another in our weakest times, is scriptural. I love this passage that shows Aaron and Hur physically holding up Moses’ hands.
Exodus 17:10-13
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. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
I’d encourage you to consider, today, how you can come alongside someone else and help them make life work. Maybe they have been hard at work in life or in ministry and need a “stone” so that they can sit. Thankfully we can offer them a much more comfortable option in our home, or in our churches, or by going out together somewhere. Maybe they feel weary from constantly having to be in battle, physical or spiritual, and just need a word of encouragement. You can provide that to them by phone, or by email, or even pen and paper. Perhaps someone has shared that they pray for you often – how about praying for them, and then letting them know you did that. Sometimes it’s nice to share how you prayed for them – for their job, for their home, for their family – so that they can take some encouragement from that.
Maybe you’re the one struggling through a situation, like Moses was. {A little background – the Israelites had been complaining against Moses, and now God is using Moses as the means by which they would win the battle.} There is not mention that Moses put up any fight when Aaron and Hur tried to help. Instead, the passage says how he was helped to a sitting position, and that they came alongside him to help. Try to be like Moses and accept the help from a friend. It’s such a blessing for us when we are able to help others. And others receive that same kind of blessing when they are able to help us.
Keep in mind that the “help” that Aaron and Hur provided wasn’t an easy job. Can you imagine standing next to someone and literally keeping their arms up for part of a day? Aaron and Hur must have been exhausted by the end of the battle, just as Moses was, but they saw the need to help and they did not back down. In the same manner, when we come alongside someone in order to help them, it often means that some work or some expenditure of our resources (time, energy) will be required of us as well.
I’d encourage you to find your Moses this week – someone you can come alongside and help in a practical way. It may be someone you know, it may not be. Pray that God will direct you to someone who can use your help. And if you are feeling like Moses, I’m praying that God brings your Aaron and Hur along to come alongside you and help you. And when God sends them, please let them help you, and by so doing, afford them the opportunity to receive the same blessing you get when you help someone.
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