Read PART 1 of ‘The Mountains That Make Us‘ before reading this!
Exodus 24: 13-14- “So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. And he said to the elders, wait here for us until we return to you. And behold. Aaron and Hur are with you, Whoever has a dispute, let him go to them,”
Loneliness is powerful. Isolation from people will make you feel like there is only the thoughts circling around in your head. When I am stuck in my house too long, my thoughts just seem to get louder and louder. I know I’m not alone in this feeling!
See, when Moses was facing this mountain that he had to climb, he brought some people with him. Some TRUSTED people that he could tell about the mountain. How often do we see mountains in our lives, and instead of telling trusted people, we try to climb the mountain alone? How often do we hide that we even have a momentous problem? How often do we let pride get in the way of telling people when mountains are in our lives?
We learn such a powerful lesson from Moses in these verses- your trusted people can be trusted with your mountains. There is no reason to hide them or be ashamed of them. True friends and true believers will acknowledge the mountain that you are facing and offer to help you through it.
PSSST….If you need a true friend group, check out my Instagram and Tik Tok page! I am so enjoying building a community there! Check these out at the top right corner of the page! You can find me everywhere at heightsinheels!
As I mentioned in my last post, January 2022 threw me for a LOOP with multiple medical issues, personal issues, relationship issues, and so many other things. Instead of keeping it inside, instead of putting on my perfection mask, and instead of pretending like none of it was happening, I reached out to friends. I told them what was happening, along with how I was feeling about things. I prayed with people. Even through the anger and frustration and sadness and fear, I had a support system who loved me enough to face those mountains with me.
So, don’t hide your problems. Don’t hide your struggles. Tell them to your trusted friends. Pray with your Christian brothers and sisters. Hiding our problems only produces shame. And once you decide to hide the issue instead of addressing it, the enemy has you right where he wants you. There is no shame in facing problems and mountains in your life! The enemy wants you to feel that shame. Instead, talk about it. Show how God is getting you through it. Go to God with it all. Don’t hide from Him because you are ashamed or scared of your mountains. Remember, he orders all of our steps. He knew the mountain was coming. God doesn’t allow anything in our lives to happen without His permission. Don’t hide from God. Go to Him with it ALL- the good, the bad, the disappointment, the tears, the heartache, the anger, the frustration and the tears. He wants to hear it all from you.
Later in this verse, God tells Aaron and Hur, Moses’s two companions, to deal with the disputes that the people of Israel are having while Moses is waiting on the mountain. Earlier in Exodus (chapter 18), Moses was trying to do it all: deal with all of the disputes and all of the other daily tasks that he thought he should be doing. His father-in-law gave him some great advice: delegate. When Moses did, he was able to do what God really needed him to do and focus on.
God telling Aaron and Hur to deal with the disputes going on at the campsite that the people of Israel are staying at is very significant. It shows us that we aren’t supposed to handle it ALL ourselves. Aaron and Hur had their own calling at that time, and that was God’s decision. Moses and the other elders probably wanted that piece of control. The thought of letting that go to those two men was probably baffling. And yet, God called them to do it.
Moses didn’t argue with God or try to change His mind about it. Moses just let it go. He realized that his obedience of waiting at the bottom of the mountain was more important than what HE thought was important. Our obedience to God is always more important than any to-do list that we will ever make in our lives. Obedience to God is faith that He is in control.
Faith is a GIFT from God that we can trust Him when things are crazy in our world. And waiting at the bottom of a mountain sure does sound crazy. And yet… Moses did. The elders did. Logically, they probably wanted to go and help Aaron and Hur make decisions. Yet, God hadn’t called any of them to be decision makers right then. God had called them to wait. God had called them to be patient. They were willing to give up the power of settling disputes on faith to live in obedience by waiting at the bottom of the mountain to hear God’s next instruction. They made a choice in those moments: Was power or obedience more important to them?
Are you willing to do this? Are you willing to wait at the bottom of the mountain even when you see others doing things that you would rather be doing? Are you willing to stop comparing what God has asked someone else to do with what God has asked you to do? We all have a purpose. We all have to accept that our purpose is different that someone else’s. God wants us to follow life the way HE has planned for us. Sometimes that means waiting. Other times that means doing. If you are in a waiting season right now, facing a mountain that you don’t particularly want to climb, I hope that you start praying that God will help you through the entire process. I hope that your prayers are both for the waiting season and the climbing season. I hope that you pray about looking at this mountain in the rearview of life one day and being thankful for the lessons that it taught you. But right now, I hope that you can choose to be content in the waiting. I hope that you can choose to be okay with doing the hard work of climbing the mountains. I hope that your focus stays on the One directing your every step and move.
Aaron and Hur had been prepared for this mission by God, even if they didn’t feel like it. We don’t know much about these 2 men, but I know from experience that when God gives you a mission, the first thing that you often think about is how unqualified you are. And yet, Aaron and Hur left the mountain to go back down to the masses of the people of Israel to do what God had called them to do. It didn’t matter how they felt. Feelings don’t determine our obedience. Doing what God has asked despite our feelings determines our obedience.
On the flip side of waiting at the bottom of the mountain, is God telling you to go somewhere else to do what He needs you to do? Sometimes mountains are changes that we look forward to like career changes or new responsibilities. Aaron and Hur were told, by God to turn around and settle disputes between the people of Israel. They may have felt unqualified, but they also may have felt hurt, confused and lost. How come they weren’t getting the same experience and treatment as the other Elders? While we don’t hear what Aaron and Hur’s reactions are, going to deal with the public while everyone else was waiting for God on the mountain couldn’t have been a fun realization. And yet, we know that Aaron ad Hur DID what they were asked, despite what they thought about the mission and purpose that God gave them. God qualified them by simply calling them.
God does the same for us. When He calls us to do something, we don’t have to worry about our qualifications, or if we REALLY want to do it. We just have to turn and walk in obedience towards what we have been called to do. Whether it’s waiting, climbing mountains, or dealing with the public, we all have roles that God has ordained for us in this life that further His kingdom. We have to always remember that THIS is our true purpose on this planet. Furthering the Kingdom of God, praising and worshiping Him, and loving Him above all else is what we were put here to do. No matter what our individual purpose is, they all converge at that intersection of furthering God’s Kingdom.
These 2 verses are packed with so many amazing lessons about faith, mountains, friendship, and patience. I hope that you take the time this week to dig even deeper into Exodus Chapter 24!
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