Day 9 | Somebody Has To Hold The Arms: The Design God Called Good

Scripture: Exodus 17:12 (NLT) | Ecclesiastes 4:12 (NLT)

If we start this conversation with church attendance, we will miss the point. Community is part of God’s design for humanity because God Himself exists in relationship. Before there were people to fellowship with, before there was a planet or a garden or a Sunday, God existed as Father, Son, and Spirit. He has always existed in relationship. When Scripture says we were made in His image, part of what that means is that we were made for one another on purpose, by a God who has never existed in isolation.

In a garden where nothing had gone wrong, where there was no sin, no shame, and nothing broken, God looked at a man who had unbroken access to Him and said it was not good for him to be alone. Adam had God face to face, without any barrier, and God still said it was not good for him to be alone. Our need for people is therefore part of God’s original design. It was built into us.

If you have been carrying the belief that needing people is a spiritual deficiency, or that a mature believer should be able to handle life with Jesus and a journal alone, I want to release you from that belief today. That is a wound wearing maturity’s clothes.

Consider Moses on that hill. Israel is fighting in the valley, and as long as Moses holds up his hands, they are winning. This is the leader who spoke with God at the burning bush and watched a sea split. If anyone could have powered through on sheer anointing, it was him, yet Scripture says his arms became tired.

There is no rebuke in the text, and God does not tell Moses to have more faith. Scripture simply records that a man became tired while holding something up. Aaron and Hur then found a stone for him to sit on, stood on either side of him, and held his hands up until sunset.

Notice what they did. They did not take the staff, replace Moses, or take over his assignment. They positioned themselves under his arms and made it possible for him to keep doing what he was called to do. That is what real community does. It holds you up while you carry what God has given you.

The victory in that valley belonged as much to the two men holding Moses’ arms as it did to the man holding the staff. Nobody in the valley saw Aaron and Hur, and nobody chanted their names, yet without them, Moses’ arms would have come down and the battle would have turned. Some of the most important work happening in the Kingdom is being done by people whose names nobody knows, standing beside somebody and holding something up.

You might be Moses in this season, or you might be Aaron. Most of us are both, depending on the room and the day.

Scripture tells us to think of ways to motivate one another towards love and good works. That requires intention. Encouragement is an assignment that takes thought, so it means noticing who has gone quiet in the group chat and reaching out instead of assuming somebody else will. It means remembering what somebody was struggling with two weeks ago and asking about it by name. Being specific is love with its homework done.

We are also told to keep meeting together, and the writer understands that people drift. He tells us to keep gathering because somebody in that community needs what we carry, just as we need what they carry. Neither can be fully replaced by a screen.

For some of us, the obstacle is not laziness. Community is where we were hurt. We were known in a room once and that knowledge was used against us, so we learned to attend without arriving. If that is you, you do not have to rush the process, and God does not rush you either. Still, do not let a painful experience convince you that healthy community does not exist. The answer to being hurt by people is to find safer people, choose them slowly, and build relationships in the light.

That brings us to the cord. Solomon builds it in stages. One person can be overpowered, two can stand together, and three form a cord that is not easily broken. Braided cords distribute tension, allowing the strands to carry pressure together. The pressure that could overwhelm one person can be shared across the community.

Many Christians understand the third strand in Ecclesiastes 4:12 to represent the Lord Himself, woven through the middle of a friendship. That picture captures something essential about Kingdom community: God is actively present in the relationships He uses to strengthen us.

The reason God calls us into community is that He does His work through people. He could speak a word and finish everything instantly, yet He chooses to heal through hands, comfort through phone calls, and provide help through the person who showed up. When you hold somebody’s arms up, you are participating in the way God moves through His people.

That is the gift underneath all of this. God allows us to work alongside Him and shares His assignments with ordinary people. Your Tuesday text could be the thing that keeps somebody from quitting.

So do not carry this stretch alone. Find your Aaron, be somebody’s Hur, and let what God has built in you strengthen somebody else. That is where growth becomes impact.

Practical Application

Before this week ends, do two things. First, name one person who has been holding your arms up, whether they know it or not, and tell them specifically what they did and what it meant to you. Second, identify someone in your circle who has gone quiet and reach out with a specific question about something they previously shared with you. If you are the person who has gone quiet, tell one safe person one honest sentence about what you are carrying today.

Reflection Questions

1. Who are the people currently holding my arms up, and what has made it difficult for me to let them support me?
2. Where have I treated my need for people as a weakness instead of recognising it as part of God’s design?
3. Whose arms is God asking me to hold up in this season, even if nobody else sees me doing it?

Prayer

Father, thank You that You created me for relationship and that my need for people is part of Your design rather than a flaw in me. Give me the courage to be known, the wisdom to choose safe people, and the faithfulness to hold up those You have placed around me. Help me become someone who intentionally encourages others and allows myself to be supported when I am tired. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Devotional Written: Dice Gamble