Friendship For God’s Will

This post is meant to help us prepare to move out of the way and allow God to sanctify us. It is our prayer that you will be edified and equipped. We also ask that you share our post with others, tweet, repost, email to your friends, or just tell someone about them.  Enjoy the read!

Read & Meditate

Exodus 17:11-13: 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.

Read & Meditate

As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. We can just see it, Moses’s hands being lowered, and the Amalekites gaining the advantage. There are times in our lives when we have felt like lowering our hands and things seem hopeless, or we can’t see a solution to a problem. Who and what do we need in these times, besides God Himself? We can make the argument that we need a friend to help us through it, help us think through a solution, or provide us with a different point of view. We need, some would say, “a helping hand” or “a friend in deed”, offer assistance, and we could go on with the clichés but we should move on. Why are friends important? Thinking biblically, which we should do in every relationship, God provided Aaron and Hur to help Moses. The support that was provided helped Moses accomplish God’s will in delivering His people. It seems that Moses was tired and needed a helping hand, or in this case, helping hands. Thinking from an earthly perspective, it must have been really comforting for Moses to have two guys who were strong enough to hold up his hands. They were useful and timely to Moses.

We recall in Mathew 12:46-50, Jesus was addressing the crowd, and his mother and brothers came to Him and He was told they wanted to speak with Him. He replied, suggesting that His family was actually the brothers and sisters whom He was already speaking to. What does this mean? We know Jesus' mother: Mary. His brothers are James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas—not the traitor; this was a very common name in that culture (Matthew 13:55). Mary, James, and Judas (also known as Jude), at least, would become dedicated Christ-followers. But at this point, they only cared about mitigating the damage Jesus was causing by His very public, very controversial ministry. The family definition is expanded beyond blood relatives and spouses, and now includes those who hunger for a relationship with God and are willing to do God’s will. As far as Jesus is concerned, those who work together to fulfill the Will of God are the true family. His main concern was that all relationships are centered in some way, shape, or form on pointing us back to God. Jesus turned a lot of cultural teachings upside down, and it made some people rebel, and some accepted it.  Let us be reminded that the battle in Exodus was about God’s plan. There was a combination of the human instrument and the divine power. There was the staff that God called the rod of Moses, and so honored Moses. Moses called it the rod of God, and so honored God. There are two narratives we can extract from this passage. We find honor at work and the preservation of God’s people in tandem. God used Moses, Arron, Hur, the friend relationships, and the rod to fulfill His will.

Respond and Implement 

1) Consider how we can use our friendships for God’s purposes

2) What is the evidence we can offer that we are using our friendships to fulfill God’s purposes?

Grace and Peace Be With You