Help in the Battle
But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. Exodus 17:12
Everyone goes through battles, even Christians. Family and work relationships. A difficult marriage. A new marriage. Financial differences. A strong-willed child. Emotional upheaval. Death of someone we love. Redirection we weren’t expecting.
For the Christian, we add the stresses and the hatred and rejection of God’s Law in our culture. Shouldn’t we be doing something about it all?
In the list of things (1st paragraph) that can happen to anyone, there is an emotional component that makes it hard to work at trying to restore Christian values and expectations to our culture. Things like murder by abortion, taxation and spending, LGBT issues, transgender and homosexuality issues, as well as public schooling, are things that take a back seat when a woman has personal, marital, or financial problems. Yet, they are things God hates.
Unfortunately, many women suffer through these issues longer than they might if there was someone willing to come alongside of them and be a mentor through a difficult time. Older women give many reasons why they do not step up and volunteer for this work.
Mentoring is time consuming. Mentoring is emotionally taxing. It takes time from our husbands, families, and homes (and gardens). It may need to be done at an inconvenient time if it is a young mother.
All of these things are true. However….
It is time well spent obeying a command of God (Titus 2:3-5). It may be emotionally difficult but God promises blessings for obedience. It takes time from others but will not consume all of your time. Being willing to meet at an inconvenient time for you may be a great gift and a message of true Christian love and sacrifice to the women for whom you are willing to be inconvenienced.
Will you please reconsider your objections and the blessing you might be to a young woman?
It takes longer to get through a battle without help. God gave us instructions for the older woman to teach the younger woman. This may take on any form the women may choose; small groups, one-on-one formal mentoring, or an invitation for coffee and time to hear and speak what God’s Word says about a situation.
A lot of women need their arms help up in the battles of life, often inside the home or in the church. In the meantime, the cultural battles rage on with Christians like us pretending it doesn’t matter. God’s Law says that we are to take dominion of the earth and subdue it. That is hard to do when our own homes and relationships are not in order.
If we can help a younger woman through a battle in her home that may be a battle for her faith and the realities of living it out, we will have more of an army preparing themselves and the next generation to get out of their own issues and on to the issues our culture is suffering through.
Older woman, who could you mentor?
Younger woman, who could you ask to help you through a difficult situation so that you can go and serve the Lord?