The Battle of the Tired Arms

Do you know what it feels like to be so tired you can barely lift your arms? When even holding up a cup feels too heavy?

That is where our story begins.

God's people had walked a long, long way through the wilderness. And one day a fierce people called the Amalekites came rushing at them, swords flashing, to fight. The people were frightened. Who would help them? Who would hold them up?

So Moses, who loved God, climbed a hill where everyone could see him. He carried the tall wooden staff, the same staff that had struck the rock at Horeb only a little while before, when water came pouring out for thirsty, grumbling people. And Moses lifted it high into the sky with both his hands.

Down below, the battle began.

Then something strange and wonderful happened. As long as Moses held his hands up high, God's people grew strong, and they began to win. But whenever his tired arms sank down, even a little, the enemy pushed forward. Up went the hands, and the people pushed back. Down went the hands, and the people slipped.

And Moses got tired. So very tired. His arms began to shake. His shoulders burned. He could not hold them up one moment longer, no matter how much he wanted to.

You know that feeling, when you are trying and trying, and you simply cannot do it on your own.

But Moses was not alone.

His brother Aaron was there. And his friend Hur was there. They saw his arms drooping, and they rolled a big stone over for him to sit on. Then Aaron stood on one side and Hur stood on the other, and each one took an arm and held it steady, all the way up high.

And there they stayed, the three of them together, until the sun went down. Moses' hands stayed lifted, not because he was strong enough, but because he was held. And God's people were safe.

God never made you to hold yourself up. That was never his plan, not for one day of your life. He made you to be held. And it makes his heart glad to do it.

Because you have arms that get tired too. Not just the kind that carry cups, but the deep-down kind. The part of you that has tried so hard, for so long, that it simply cannot anymore.

There is Someone who holds those arms up. His name is Jesus. Right now, this very minute, he is alive, and he is praying for you. He lifts you when you cannot lift yourself, and he never grows tired, and he never lets go.

When the fighting was over, Moses built an altar on that hill and gave it a name: The Lord Is My Banner. Then the people picked up their tents and walked on, deeper into the wilderness, toward a great mountain where God himself was about to come down. Turn the page, and you will feel it shake.