Moses ordered Joshua: "Select some men for us and go out and fight Amalek. Tomorrow I will take my stand on top of the hill holding God's staff." Joshua did what Moses ordered in order to fight Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill. It turned out that whenever Moses raised his hands, Israel was winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, Amalek was winning. But Moses' hands got tired. So they got a stone and set it under him. He sat on it and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on each side. So his hands remained steady until the sun went down. Joshua defeated Amalek and its army in battle. (Exodus 17:8-17 MSG)

Have you ever been sore? Maybe you worked out the day before and are sore from the exercise or maybe you are mentally “sore” from solving a difficult math problem. Whatever the reason is, no one enjoys being sore. It may seem like you are failing in achieving your goal, whether it be a healthy workout or passing a math test. You may think, “I’ve got to be doing something wrong if it only leaves me in pain.” But is that really true? What if, in some cases, being “sore” means progression towards your end goal?

In this week’s passage, there is a battle between the Israelites and the Amalekites. Moses and Joshua are two of the leaders of the Israelite army. Joshua is physically leading them into battle, while Moses is standing on the top of a hill, holding the holy staff in the air. Moses quickly noticed that when the staff was raised, Israel was winning, but when the staff was lowered, the Amalekites were winning. He needed to keep the staff raised in order to win, and so he did. But with his arms in the air, he got exhausted before the battle was over. Aaron and Hur brought a rock for Moses to sit on, and then they each held one of his arms in the air. In the end, Joshua led the Israelites to victory with the help of the staff, which was a symbol of God’s unfailing power. 

I can only imagine how sore Moses was after just a few hours of holding the staff up, let alone the whole day. However, in the end, it seems as though it was worth it for him to experience that kind of pain, because he achieved his goal of defeating the Amalekites. Moses went from being incomprehensibly sore to soaring with joy and accomplishment. 

Can’t we do the same thing? When we are complaining of our brains “hurting” from a difficult math problem, we can remember our goal of soaring, we can remember that we are trying to soar through our next math test and push through our “soreness.” 

Next time you are sore (physically or mentally), whether it be a bit of exercise or a difficult issue at work, remember the end goal. Remind yourself that after all the soreness, you will be able to soar.