Exodus 17: 8-13
While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them. Moses commanded Joshua, "Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand." So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. Moses' arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding us his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.
I read this passage and realized this is a great picture of what it means to suffer patiently. I am envisioning that moment with Moses standing on that hill top. The Israelite army is down below fighting their enemies. Moses at this moment has a HUGE job to do. He is to remain on this hill holding this rod in his hand while keeping his arms raised, because the victory of this battle depends on it. As I read in the passage that his arms grew weak and tired to the point he had to have help holding them up...I was reminded, Moses suffered patiently. He did not know how long he was to stand there in that same position. All he knew was it had to be done.
While writing this the movie Unbroken came to my mind. Towards the end of the movie "Louie" (Jack O'Connell) is still in the POW camp. There is a moment where he is forced to pick up this 6-foot wooden beam and hold it over his head. He was so weak and so frail. The guard told him if he drops the beam he will be executed. He was not told for how long, he just knew that he had to suffer patiently, holding on, enduring the weight because his life depended on it.
Are you going through a season in your life where you feel like you are doing just that? You are standing as steady as you can in the midst of what feels like suffering. Learning to endure through whatever situation you are faced with is not always the easiest place to be in. There are times throughout this journey where I have said before, we are enduring some ripping and tearing away. When we are faced with those moments all we want to do is drop the weight and tuck tail and run. But just as in these stories, there is a reason you, I, we are required to suffer patiently. In the story of Moses it was for the very lives that were fighting the battle. For Louis in Unbroken it was for I believe the very lives of others that watched on. In that moment there had to of been a sense of victory for the remaining prisoners as they watched him stand, suffering, enduring that weight. I feel as though he knew others lives depended on him suffering patiently in that moment. He was such a leader to so many of the others. No matter what punishment and abuse he faced he pressed on with endurance.
This season we are learning A LOT about enduring. I have felt at times that we too are suffering patiently. There are moments that seem so painful yet so victorious. What the Father is pulling out of us through this season are old habits, old patterns and old ways of thinking. In place of that He is building up a new solid foundation, new dreams and a new identity that we can be confident in. We are learning everyday how much it is not about us. Knowing what He is walking us through is for someone else to be able to press on, to go and do, to remain steady even in the most painful season, it is worth it. So enduring, suffering patiently, becomes a little easier day by day because we know the on lookers need an example. I have said it before and will say it over and over, if it helps just one other person make it through their season by what the Father is doing in us then it's worth it every time. So we press on and continue. Even though we don't have the details, time frames or logistics we endure... because there is a victory to be won!!
While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them. Moses commanded Joshua, "Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand." So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. Moses' arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding us his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.
I read this passage and realized this is a great picture of what it means to suffer patiently. I am envisioning that moment with Moses standing on that hill top. The Israelite army is down below fighting their enemies. Moses at this moment has a HUGE job to do. He is to remain on this hill holding this rod in his hand while keeping his arms raised, because the victory of this battle depends on it. As I read in the passage that his arms grew weak and tired to the point he had to have help holding them up...I was reminded, Moses suffered patiently. He did not know how long he was to stand there in that same position. All he knew was it had to be done.
While writing this the movie Unbroken came to my mind. Towards the end of the movie "Louie" (Jack O'Connell) is still in the POW camp. There is a moment where he is forced to pick up this 6-foot wooden beam and hold it over his head. He was so weak and so frail. The guard told him if he drops the beam he will be executed. He was not told for how long, he just knew that he had to suffer patiently, holding on, enduring the weight because his life depended on it.
Are you going through a season in your life where you feel like you are doing just that? You are standing as steady as you can in the midst of what feels like suffering. Learning to endure through whatever situation you are faced with is not always the easiest place to be in. There are times throughout this journey where I have said before, we are enduring some ripping and tearing away. When we are faced with those moments all we want to do is drop the weight and tuck tail and run. But just as in these stories, there is a reason you, I, we are required to suffer patiently. In the story of Moses it was for the very lives that were fighting the battle. For Louis in Unbroken it was for I believe the very lives of others that watched on. In that moment there had to of been a sense of victory for the remaining prisoners as they watched him stand, suffering, enduring that weight. I feel as though he knew others lives depended on him suffering patiently in that moment. He was such a leader to so many of the others. No matter what punishment and abuse he faced he pressed on with endurance.
This season we are learning A LOT about enduring. I have felt at times that we too are suffering patiently. There are moments that seem so painful yet so victorious. What the Father is pulling out of us through this season are old habits, old patterns and old ways of thinking. In place of that He is building up a new solid foundation, new dreams and a new identity that we can be confident in. We are learning everyday how much it is not about us. Knowing what He is walking us through is for someone else to be able to press on, to go and do, to remain steady even in the most painful season, it is worth it. So enduring, suffering patiently, becomes a little easier day by day because we know the on lookers need an example. I have said it before and will say it over and over, if it helps just one other person make it through their season by what the Father is doing in us then it's worth it every time. So we press on and continue. Even though we don't have the details, time frames or logistics we endure... because there is a victory to be won!!
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