MOTHERS UNITE

MOTHERS UNITE!

As I reflected on Pastor Mike Fields’s sermon on how Aaron and Hur placed themselves beside Moses at the top of the hill during a significant battle and held Moses’s arms up so that the battle was won (Exodus 17), it sent me on a thought track of how we as mothers need to support each other more than ever before.

Moses and the Israelites had to fight the Amalek army in Rephidim while marching through the wilderness toward the Promised Land.  Moses, Aaron and Hur positioned themselves at the top of a hill while the Israelites fought in the valley.  Moses held the Rod of God which represented the power of God.  This was the rod he had held that had parted the seas and the rod that had struck a rock, sending a fountain of endless water supply from it.  Talk about power!

When the battle raged, the Israelites would be winning as long as Moses held his arms high with the rod in his hand.  If he put his arms down, the victory would transfer to the Amalekites.  Realizing this, Aaron and Hur came alongside Moses and held his arms up when he would become weary. 

The battle was fought in the valley, but the battle was won on the hill because of the power of God. 

Our children are in battle every day as armies of evil, worldliness, and ungodliness seek to command and overtake their souls   We as mothers stand “on the hill” praying and warring in the Spirit.  “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12 NIV)

We have the Holy Spirit as our power and hold up the Word as the rod.  This Word that has healed our children’s fevers and cancers, broken bones and broken hearts.  This powerful Word has been the mainstay of our homes during tumultuous times.  God allows us to use His Word and His Name freely and unconditionally.  We can say a prayer and quote Scriptures and have a host of heavenly armies at our disposal. That is awesome! 

However, we as mothers become weary at times.  We have committed ourselves to Christ, have prayed and cried out in the night until our tears have soaked our pillows, and yet our arms have gotten tired and our minds confused.  Sometimes we stand on the hill to war in the Spirit and our faith is weak because it seems as if we are losing the battle.  But wait… here come other mothers alongside us to hold up our arms! Together we combine our faith and prayers and all of a sudden, the battle changes and victories are won!  We need each other!

How can we “hold up the arms” of other mothers? 

1.    Be strong in His might.  Together.  Be in agreement that God is our source.  Our only source.  If Aaron and Hur would have been arguing about whether God’s power was real or not, or who was Moses’s favorite, they would have ultimately lost the battle.

2.    Be available.  There are times when you need support and there are other times that you need to be the support for other mothers.

3.    Know the Word.  This is our power.  In this present evil day, we need to use the Word of God against the enemy.  When you know a mother is discouraged, lift her arms with encouraging, positive words from the Word.

4.    Pray.  Make prayer a habit.  Pray instead of talking.  Pray instead of worrying.  Intercede for the mothers who are in the heat of the battle.  Prayer releases strength straight from the source.   

5.    Stop finding fault with other mothers. Each one of us is trying hard and doing the best we can.  Women can be so critical of each other, especially when a mother is in battle for her children.  We make statements like, “I cannot believe she let her children do that!” “She should have grounded her!”  “She should not let her kids go there.”  “I bet I would not have done that with my children.”  Etc.  Etc.  Instead of criticizing, we should be lifting the mothers up in prayer (warring in the Spirit on their behalf).  We must use our words to build up and not tear down!

Together, we can win this war that Satan has waged against our children! But we must depend on the Holy Spirit and support each other as never before! 

(And now that I am a grandmother, I realize how much I need my fellow grandmothers as well.  We hold up the arms of our children, who are now the parents as we stand in the gap and intercede for our grandchildren.  I appreciate the support of my friends who are grandmothers as we pray together for our families).

Zechariah 4:6, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty – you will succeed because of my Spirit, though you are few and weak.”