Have you ever watched a television commercial where an outlandish activity is being performed? You’re nearing the end of the commercial and a disclaimer pops up on the bottom of the screen: “Stunts were performed by professionals. Do not attempt this at home.” I am so glad they let me know that! The next time I’m bored and decide to plan an extreme stunt or death-defying act, I’ll have to keep that in mind!
After reading the following passage this morning, I’m going to modify that disclaimer a bit…
The disclaimer will now read: “God has blessed us with fellowship with others! Do not attempt this life on your own!”
It is interesting in reading that passage to think of how different the outcome would have been if Moses had tried to go it alone. I like the word overwhelmed that is used in verse 13. The Israelites were able to overwhelm the Amalekites because Aaron and Hur supported Moses’ hands. Because they worked as a team- as the family of God- they were able to overcome.
Personally, I know my natural tendency is to want to handle things on my own and to not bother others. I can be independent, prideful and flat-out stubborn. But, by doing so, I miss out on overwhelming victory and on the blessing of fellowship with others!
Recently, I’ve had the opportunity to run with a couple of men. Truth be told, I jog and these men run. It’s like they’re floating on air and I’m struggling to keep up. This has been a new experience for me. Whenever I’ve run before, it was always solo…just me and my MP3…and an occasional dog chasing me. My only motivation was what I could muster from within myself. It has been interesting to see the benefits in adding this outside accountability. Before, I was never able to pull myself out of bed for exercise before the sun rose, but now I can. Why? Because I know they will be waiting for me and I don’t want to let them down. I have to push myself to run harder than if I were running on my own. Why? Because they set the pace and challenge me to keep up. It is also very interesting to realize how quickly a run can go by when you have others to converse with. This will sound funny, even though it’s not meant to, but my favorite part of the run is when we finish and we take the opportunity to talk for a few minutes. Also, we recently have started to spend a few moments in prayer. This has been such a blessing to me and I hope I’ve been a blessing to them!