I always found the story of Aaron and Hur holding up Moses’ arms while the Israelites fought the Amalakites to be fascinating. As long as Moses held his arms up with his staff lifted over his head, the Isralites were winning; when he had to drop them, they began to lose.

If you’ve ever tried to hold your arms up for an extended period of time, you know how difficult it can become. In fact, it becomes impossible at some point. The text states: “Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up.” It was impossible for him to continue in that position. The end result was going to be disaster.

I think God knew that.

Aaron and Hur see the predicament Moses is in and rush over to help:

So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.
                                                                                          [Exodus 17:1-13]

They were the unsung heroes — had they not stepped in, what happened would not have happened. In fact, not only would good not have happened, bad would have been the result!

There are times I’ve felt a bit like Moses with my arms up in the air. I’m certainly no Moses but I do feel overwhelmed with what God is directing me to do in Brasil [Com’on Lord! Didn’t you dial a wrong number?]. My arms get so numb that I can’t continue doing what needs to be done — I fall into the trap of thinking that “I” must do it. The result is that things don’t and can’t get done.

Again, I think God knew that.

In steps the unexpected and unsung heroes. They grab a stone, set me down on it, then hold my arms up high. Wow! Am I ever humbled by their willingness to do whatever has to be done.

I’m going to be giving you some snap shots of what unsung heroes look like. Be forewarned! They’ll probably look just like you…