Sometimes, it’s easy – this thing called life. You’re making it on your own. Things are going smoothly. And you don’t need anyone or anything to help you.
Then, about a minute later, you feel the weight of life and realize it’s a lot harder than it looks. A little help would be nice after all.
That’s where our BFFs (biblical friends forever) come into play, and that’s what happened in our next biblical example of awesome friendship. Enter Moses, Aaron, and Hur.
When the Israelites fought the Amalekites in Exodus 17, Moses must have thought he had an easy job. All he had to do was hold his arms up and the Israelite army would win. Lower his arms, and the enemy would conquer them.
Have you ever tried to hold your arms up for any significant length of time? I’m pretty sure it can be categorized as torture. I can’t do it. Moses couldn’t do it. And my guess is that you can’t do it either. You need help. You need, like Moses did, someone to come alongside you and hold your hand.
12 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. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. (Exodus 17:12-13)
All Aaron and Hur did was support Moses. They steadied his arms when they were growing weary and encouraged him until the battle was over. Another beautiful picture of what friendship should look like. One friend holding the hand of the other through these rough waters called life.
How do your friendships measure up in this area? Do your friends encourage you to be a loving wife to your husband, a good parent to your kids, a trustworthy employee to your boss, a growing student of God’s Word? When life gets tough, do they party with you in the pit or do they pull you to the surface?
What do you do for them?
It is important that BFFs walk your walk and talk your talk, but if they don’t hold your hand and encourage you as well, the relationship may have a toxic element to it that needs to be addressed.
One of the best things about encouragement is that it’s contagious. Consider Moses and his little predicament again. Aaron and Hur encouraged Moses. Moses, in turn, encouraged Joshua with his arms raised high. Joshua encouraged the Israelite army. And the Israelite army defeated the Amalekites.
Like the domino effect in reverse.
Encouraging, isn’t it?
If you’d like to read more about encouragement, check out The Spiritual Art of Encouragement Part1 and Part 2.
Q:What do your friends do to hold your hand and encourage you?
Read the entire BFF Series:
When I really think about it, I have two true BFF that are always there to encourage me and keep me up when I feel like I am falling. They encourage me to stay strong when I feel like giving up, they help me when I am sick, they walk the walk with me, side by side.