A Little Help from My Friends
Wounded And Weary - Week 6
A Little Help From My Friends
Exodus 17:1-13
1. We were never meant to fight our battles alone.
1At the Lord’s command, the whole community of Israel left the wilderness of Sin and moved from place to place. Eventually, they camped at Rephidim, but there was no water there for the people to drink. 2 So once more the people complained against Moses. “Give us water to drink!” they demanded. “Quiet!” Moses replied. “Why are you complaining against me? And why are you testing the Lord?
3 But tormented by thirst, they continued to argue with Moses. “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Are you trying to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?”
Panic and exhaustion cause a profound spiritual amnesia.
Spiritual Amnesia blinds you to your own historywith God.
4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What should I do with these people? They are ready to stone me!”
5 The Lord said to Moses, “Walk out in front of the people. Take your staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile, and call some of the elders of Israel to join you. 6 I will stand before you on the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come gushing out. Then the people will be able to drink.”
Do not face this crisis in isolation. Bring your community with you.”
6b“So Moses struck the rock as he was told, and water gushed out as the elders looked on. 7 Moses named the place Massah (which means “test”) and Meribah (which means “arguing”) because the people of Israel argued with Moses and tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord here with us or not?”
8 While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them.
2. The enemyrarelyattacks when you arestrong and prepared.
9 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.” 10 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.
Sometimes, what we think will be an easy task becomes the very thing that threatensto break us.
11 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. 12 Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up.
12b So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset.
3. Aaron and Hur didn’t wait for Moses to ask them for help.
We have to start payingattention to the people in our circles of influence.
"Teamwork makes the dream work." -John Maxwell
13 As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.
4. Victorycame because of teamwork.
Isolation is the enemy'sabsolute favoriteplayground.
Asking for help is not a sign of weakness; it is an admission of your humanity.
5. Weary people do not have the energy to make the phone call- Be proactive. Pay attention.