Assisting or...

...Resisting?

This question crossed my mind as the title of a post several months ago. I kept resisting until the Lord forcefully "assisted" me by reminding me of this Scripture and insisted I get on with it - no matter what people will think or say so here we go.
Exodus 17: 8-13 tells us that

⁸Then Amalek [and his people] came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.⁹ So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek [and his people]. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” ¹⁰ So Joshua did as Moses said, and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the hilltop. ¹¹ Now when Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and when he lowered his hand [due to fatigue], Amalek prevailed. ¹² But Moses’ hands were heavy and he grew tired. So they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other side; so it was that his hands were steady until the sun set. ¹³ So Joshua overwhelmed and defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. (AMP)

As I prepared to write this up, the Holy Spirit suggested that I also add the definitions of both words and then tie them to the scripture above.

Assist is a verb which simply means to "help (someone), typically by doing a share of the work."* It also means to support, facilitate, expedite, encourage...

Resist is also a verb and it means to "withstand the action or effect of,"* "try to prevent by action or argument." Synonyms include oppose, impede, defy, frustrate.

Before we term one word a "good" one or a "bad" one, let's be clear that both words are simply actions we take and it's the context in which we use them that determines whether our actions not the words are good or bad.

We see examples in 1 Peter 5

1 Peter 5:5 - ⁵ In the same way, younger people should be willing to be under [submit/be subject to] older people [or the elders]. And all of you should be very humble with each other [clothe yourselves with humility toward one another]. [Because:] “God is against [resists; opposes] the proud, but he gives grace to the humble [Prov. 3:34].”  (EXB, emphasis mine)

1 Peter 5: 8-9 - ⁸ Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour. ⁹But resist him, be firm in your faith [against his attack—rooted, established, immovable], knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world. [You do not suffer alone.] (AMP, emphasis mine)

In other words, we're always assisting or resisting whether or not we know or do it consciously. The "Tug of War" game is a great example of that - you're either assisting or resisting depending on which side of the rope you're on.

Tying this back to the passage (pun unintended), the first thing that's noteworthy is that Aaron and Hur were proactive, they went up the mountain with Moses (see verse 10). The Bible doesn't tell us if Moses asked them to accompany him or if they took the initiative to do so. At the risk of digressing, a few months ago, a sister shared Proverbs 30:27 and talked about not having a "leader." After that Early Morning Prayer, we also discussed it at another meeting and agreed that we should all know what we should do and more importantly do it. Putting it into my words, "Knowing what to do and not doing it well or at all is = Resisting."

Imagine if Aaron (remember he was older than Moses) decided that he'd go up the mountain with Moses to "supervise" him and just sat on the stone and watched Moses as he raised up his hands? He definitely will not have been assisting him - he would actually be resisting him.

This brings me to the next point, with God, it's not about age. The fact that a person is older and/or more experienced than their Pastor or Pastor's wife has nothing to do with it. We must recognize that God has set us where we are today so we assist His "Set-man" or woman. If/when we don't assist, we're resisting and it may be born out of pride...and remember how God feels about the proud (see 1 Peter 5:5 (above); James 4:6**; Prov 3:34***; 29:23****).

The third point was the effort they both put into it...imagine if they decided it was too hard to hold Moses' hands all the way up? They would have been what I call a "Resistant Assistant" - neither hot or cold...and we know what God does with the lukewarm.*****

Bottom-line: With all that we do, either as Mrs Pastor to our own leaders or to our Mrs Pastor as members of the church, we should assess whether we are Assisting or Resisting them.


References:
* Google
** James 4:6 - But He gives us more and more grace [through the power of the Holy Spirit to defy sin and live an obedient life that reflects both our faith and our gratitude for our salvation]. Therefore, it says, “God is opposed to the proud and haughty, but [continually] gives [the gift of] grace to the humble [who turn away from self-righteousness].” (AMP)
*** Prov 3:34 - Though He scoffs at the scoffers and scorns the scorners, Yet He gives His grace [His undeserved favor] to the humble [those who give up self-importance]. (AMP)
**** Prov 29:23 - A man’s pride and sense of self-importance will bring him down, But he who has a humble spirit will obtain honor (AMP)
***** Rev 3:16 - So because you are lukewarm (spiritually useless), and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth [rejecting you with disgust]. (AMP)