I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard my worship pastor say, “Church, lift up your hands!” Raising your hands to the Lord is an act of worship, respect, and surrender. It’s one way we can beautifully and intimately express our love to the Father. And outside of worship, I believe raising your hands to the Lord is a powerful declaration of faith over any situation in which we find ourselves. 

Interestingly enough, one of the first mentions of raising hands as an act of faith in the Bible was about raising someone else’s hands. In Exodus 17, Moses sends Joshua and his men to protect Israel against an attack from the Amalekites. In verses 11 through 13, we read, “As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. 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” (NLT).

The Bible doesn’t give much detail of this event beyond these few verses, so we don’t know the full significance of why God had Moses raise his staff to help Joshua win. But I firmly believe God used this moment to illustrate a powerful truth in His kingdom: we need each other. Moses was the man God used to deliver His people from slavery, the man God gave His Commandments to, and the man whose face shone with glory because he saw God. Yet Moses didn’t have the strength to hold up his hands on his own. You’d think after all of the miracles God performed, He could have given Moses supernatural strength to keep his arms up. But no, God allowed Moses to experience the weakness of his humanity; He allowed Moses to need his brothers. 

My friend, have you found yourself in a place where you are just too weary to take another step? You’ve been trying to fight the good fight of faith, but you’re worn, tired, and defeated. First, you are not a bad Christian for feeling this way. Even Moses experienced this exact feeling! Second, maybe it’s time to let someone else lift your hands. Maybe it’s time to be vulnerable and invite someone else into your fight. The Lord wants to supply you with His strength, and you can rest assured He will do this, but sometimes, I believe He wants to supply it through another person. Ask the Lord who that person may be in your life, and ask the Lord to show you someone who may need their hands lifted. Friends, let’s be the Church. Let’s fight the good fight of faith together. Let’s lift up one another’s hands.