“So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill.” Exodus 17:10

The story of how the Israelites overcame the Amalekites is not just about remembering the power of God.  It demonstrates how we can all soar and succeed when we’re united in our actions alongside God.

After reading the passage, I thought deeply about the part each person played in the victory.  I want to describe it as, “Big or small, each person played their role!”  But after carefully studying how the story is told, I realized that God never judged each action as “big” or “small”.  The Bible doesn’t rank each actor. And while the critical action was ensuring the hands of Moses stayed raised, the text doesn’t specifically single out one action as being more important than the others.

Moses keeping his hands raised was important.  The aid of Aaron and Hur in keeping Moses’s hands steady until sunset was important.  Joshua and his men being on the front lines of the battle was important.  You could even make a case that the stone Moses was sitting was important.  Without the entire community acting together, the fall of the Israelites to the Amalekites was inevitable. 

Not only does God show his awesome power by saving the Israelites, he also demonstrates how important acting together as a community will be for their future survival.

This story makes me think deeply about areas in my life where I’m making excuses to not meet God.  I often dissuade myself from engaging because I don’t view my aid as important enough. I see my individual actions as being too small to really matter.  If I can’t commit to volunteering every single week, I shouldn’t volunteer at all.  If I can only attend a small group for part of the time, there’s no point in going.  My $5 donation is a drop in the ocean.

I often say, “No.”

But God is proclaiming, “Yes!”

As I start this fall season, I will promise myself and promise God that I will not stop myself from engaging for good in our community. God wants me to soar alongside my community, and that’s the only truth I need to know to engage wherever He is leading me.

This week, reflect on how everything we do in the service of God matters.  Go back to that spot where you may not have taken a path God was calling you to take because that voice in your head said it was too small, or your actions wouldn’t matter.  They do matter, so go soar!