The Gap Stander and the By Stander

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 17:12 (MSG)

I got teary eyed everytime I am reminded of this story that it compelled me to share this in one of our d-times. (discipling times - a christian lingo that we use where we sisters and brothers sit together to talk about the things we are learning from our daily walk with God) The victory of the Israelites will depend on how Moses fully obeyed the directions given by God. As Joshua and his armies fight the Amalekites, Moses is in charge of raising his hands holding his staff over the valley, he will maintain that position until the sunset or probably until the battle is not yet over.  So imagine Moses maintaining such uncomfortable position for long hours, whenever Moses lowered his hands, the Israelites is losing in the battle against the Amalekites. What is really amazing in this story is what Moses' two other friends did in order to lessen his burden, Aaron and Hur's action made impact in my life.

When Moses hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and sat on it.  Aaron and Hur held his hands so that his hands remained steady until sunset.  They saw the pressure and discomfort Moses experienced as he held his hands, with compassion they did what they can to help Moses.  They could not hold the staff for Moses but they could stand with him through the long battle, they have provided strength to the weakness created by Moses.

Aaron and Hur can choose to just observed Moses as he fulfill his task or become a by stander but instead they decided to fill in the gap and became a gap stander. In one of the devotional series that I read it said that a "by stander" is someone who is an onlooker who watches, but does not get involve whereas a "gap stander" is someone who has an empathy and takes action, using the strength of their faith to help the fighter stand until the victory comes, they are someone the one in the battle can lean on.

We always have a choice to be a gap stander or a by stander, everywhere we can see people who are in need like those friends that are weak or having a hard time in their faith, to that someone who is overwhelmed with the responsibilities in life, to that someone who is sick and fighting for their lives.  As a gap stander we can be committed in encouragement, prayer and spiritual and practical support, and as a by stander we may choose to ignore and don't do anything and just wait for others to help them.

I believe that each one of us has the capacity to be Aaron and Hur in other people's lives, Gap Standers may not always be the one who are in front of the battle or they may not be the leader or the point person who is in charge of a certain task but their role is something that cannot be ignore, their actions may not be something grandiose, it may be as simple as praying for someone, or giving notes of encouragement or being on time.  No matter how minimal the task is once it comes from the heart of a gap stander, it will always provides faith and encouragement to the one who will receive it.

Will you choose today to be Gap Stander or an apathetic By Stander?