Somebody to Lean On
“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.” Exodus 17:12 (NIV)
Someone very dear to me is in the fight of her life … she’s wrestling with her belief in God and searching to know with certainty that Scripture is true. She’s fighting for her faith. Watching from the sidelines is difficult to endure for me. But the battle is one that only she can combat.
I love her so much and want to jump in the ring with my fighting gloves and slay the enemy. As one who came out victorious from the same struggle of my own, I long to bottle the knowledge I learned and give it to her. Handing my wisdom and faith to her would surely spare her the agony associated with a fight for faith in the Lord.
Watching the conflict as a bystander is arduous. But while I watch, I pray. And through prayer I am reminded of two men in the Bible who stood by their friend Moses in battle.
Moses sent Joshua into battle to fight an army of their enemies. While Joshua and the men waged war, Moses stood on top of the mountain holding his staff over the valley. Joshua and his men were victorious as long as Moses held the staff up. When Moses lowered the staff, their enemies gained on them.
Moses’ friends, Aaron and Hur, followed him up the mountain. They saw the pressure and agony Moses experienced as he held the staff. With compassion, these men pushed a large rock under Moses for him to rest upon. Then, in a selfless act of love and friendship, they each held up one of Moses’ arms as he held the staff high.
They could not hold the staff for Moses but they could stand with him through the long battle.
They filled in the gap created by Moses’ weakness with the strength of their faith.
This story challenged me to change my position from a bystander to that of a gap-stander. A bystander is an onlooker who watches, but does not to get involved.
A gap-stander has empathy and takes action, using the strength of her faith to help the fighter stand until victory comes. A gap-stander is someone the one in battle can lean on.
Are you watching someone you care about fight for faith, whether in God, for healing, restoration of a marriage, or something else? Do you feel helpless?
We cannot give our faith to our loved ones or fight for them, but we can stand with them and support them as they fight to have their own faith.
The job of the gap-stander isn’t easy, but it is a place of honor. Gap-standers are committed to encouragement, prayer, and spiritual and practical support. As we watch the battle rage, we also share in and observe God’s great work and their victory. Who can you stand in the gap for today?
This spoke to my heart today. My mom passed away very suddenly last year, and our family has been devastated, especially my dad. In addition to experiencing unbearable grief, he has battled one illness after another. I’ve watched as he’s struggled, and I’ve prayed for God to give him strength, peace, and comfort. I suppose I was standing in the gap for him at that point. However, there came a point when I began to have a crisis of faith. I became angry and frustrated that he continued to suffer with very little improvement. It seemed like he was hit with one blow after another. I felt like losing my mom was difficult enough. He shouldn’t have to go through the pain of illnesses on top of that. It broke my heart to see him still hurting even with myself and many others praying. Through all of this, though, my dad’s faith has never failed. Regardless of what he’s dealing with, even when he doesn’t understand the reason, he always praises God for His love and goodness and reminds me that we have to trust God’s plan for our lives. Through his faithfulness and trust in God, my dad, without even realizing it, has been standing in the gap for me. It still hurts me to see him suffering, but I’m trying to follow his example of thankfulness and trust. I guess we are both standing in the gap for one another right now. Thanks so much for your posts. God always has a way of speaking to hearts and minds through your words.