Helping One Another Persevere // Quarter 4 Unit 2 Lesson 8
We can help one another to persevere.
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
Galatians 6:2
When we face difficult situations, we often try to carry the heavy weight on our own. We use our own strength to bear the burden of our troubles—and we become overwhelmed by the weight. But the Lord has called us to carry one another’s burdens so that we can help each other and become more like Christ in the process.
Certainly, I can provide the verses in the American Standard Version (ASV):
Exodus 3:
“Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to the mountain of God, unto Horeb.”
Exodus 4:
“And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice; for they will say, Jehovah hath not appeared unto thee.”
Exodus 17:
“And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, by their journeys, according to Jehovah’s commandment, and encamped in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.”
Exodus 18:
“Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, how that Jehovah had brought Israel out of Egypt.”
Do you have someone in your life you can trust to give you good advice? Someone who will always speak the truth to you in love? Do you do the same for others?
To truly fulfill God’s plan for your life, you need to learn to help others and allow others to help you. So, the next time help is offered, accept it.
Do not consider needing help as a sign of weakness. Instead, remember that it is God’s grace extended through human hands. He wants us to carry the burdens of life together so that we can truly know His great love for us. How can you show that same love to others?
Moses is considered to be one of the most important figures in three of the world’s major religions. He is often characterized in film and storybooks as a heroic leader.
However, the Bible tells us another side of his story. When God first charged Moses with leading the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses declined the job offer. He was hesitant and doubtful, even after God spoke to him from a bush and told him, “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12).
And that would not be the last time that Moses would feel overwhelmed at the task set before him.
Moses, who was personally selected and appointed by God to do His work, needed help along the way. And if Moses was able to humble himself and call for help, then we can do that too.
Persevering means that you continue to move forward, even when doing so is difficult.
We’ve talked about how you can persevere on your own, but there are going to be many times in our lives when we need to ask for help to keep going.
Moses is remembered as a great leader. Movies and storybooks show him in strong poses, leading the Israelites out of the hands of their masters, the Egyptians. But Moses did not do anything good all on his own, and he was at times very aware of his need for help.
God was with Moses as he persevered through many trials and difficulties when he was leading God’s people through the wilderness. God also provided others to encourage Moses, to help him, and to mentor him.
You may remember the story about how God spoke to Moses from a burning bush, calling on Moses to lead God’s people out of slavery. As you might imagine, Moses was surprised to meet God there, and even more surprised to hear how God intended to use him.
Exodus 4:10–12
Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”
The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
What weaknesses does Moses reveal about himself?
Since Moses is able to speak to God, one might assume he could also speak to Pharaoh. What else besides speech problems might be standing in Moses’s way?
God told Moses that He was in control and that He’d give Moses words to speak. But Moses still was fearful of taking on the role God had given him.
So God told Moses that He would send Aaron, Moses’s older brother, to go with him, saying “I know he can speak well” (v. 14).
With help from the Lord and Aaron, Moses successfully led the Israelites out of slavery and into the wilderness, where God took care of them.
Many years before He rescued the Israelites from Egypt, God had told His people that He’d lead them to a place where they’d live in peace and freedom.
But even after He freed them from slavery, the Israelites weren’t obedient to God. Because of this, they wandered in the wilderness for nearly 40 years before they were allowed to enter the land God had promised them.
But God was with them the entire time, appearing to them sometimes as a pillar of cloud or fire. God provided food and water for the Israelites and kept encouraging Moses along the way.
While they were in the wilderness, the Israelites were vulnerable to attacks from their enemies because they didn’t have a city with walls to protect them. And because they’d lived in slavery for many years, the Israelites had never fought in a battle before.
During the Israelites’ first battle, Joshua led the Israelite troops while Moses, Aaron, and another leader, Hur, went up to the top of a hill to oversee the fighting.
Whenever Moses held up his hands, Israel did well in the battle. But whenever he lowered his hands, Israel began to lose to their enemies.
17:12, 13
12 But Moses’ hands became [a]heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
How do you think it would feel to have the responsibility for an entire nation’s success in battle in your hands?
The battle took all day for the Israelites to win. Do you think Moses could’ve persevered without Aaron and Hur?
Not long after the battle was won, Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came to visit Moses. Jethro rejoiced over all the great things that the Lord had done to help the people of Israel. He also saw how difficult it was for Moses to lead God’s people.
While Jethro was visiting, Moses took his seat to judge the disputes that the Israelites brought before him. He shared God’s laws with the people to help them solve their problems and settle their conflicts. But the Israelites had so many needs that Moses sat from morning until evening helping them.
Exodus 18:14–23
When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”
Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”
Moses father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out.
The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you.You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him.
Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves.
That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”
Jethro advised Moses to ask for help from others. He also told Moses to make the people more responsible for settling their own disputes. How could this advice help Moses and the Israelites to persevere?
Jethro was a mentor for Moses.
A mentor is a wise and trusted teacher or counselor. This may be a family member, a neighbor, a minister, an older student—anyone who can understand your situation and give you wise and godly advice.
It should be someone you trust and someone who treats you with respect. A wise mentor can help you to persevere through difficult situations by assisting you, advising you, and praying with and for you.
A mentor can also hold you accountable, which means encouraging you to do what you need to do. Though you don’t need to have an official mentor, meeting on a regular basis with someone who cares about you and supports you can be helpful.
There may be some situations in your life where you feel like there is no one you can talk to—no one who will understand. In those situations—and in every situation in your life—you can talk to God.
He knows your difficulties and pain, and He always cares. You can seek the truth in His Word.
Moses depended on God and became known throughout history as a man of great faith.
Hebrews 11:24-29:
By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.
He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.
By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
The story of Moses is one of the most important stories in the Bible, and yet it might not have ever happened if Moses had not had help along the way.
How does it help you to hear about stories like this of people who depended on God?
*Just as we can be helped by hearing about the actions and attitudes of those who follow God, we can also be hurt by people who do not know Christ and who may seek to cause divisions among those who do.
Several times, Moses had to protect the Israelites from the influences of enemies who worshipped other gods and sought to weaken the nation of Israel.
In the New Testament, we can find a short letter from Jude, who is known as a servant of Christ and a brother to James. He writes to followers of Christ to warn them of the harmful influences of what he terms ungodly people.
17-23 of Jude’s letter:
But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.”
These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
What dangers could come from ungodly people?
How does Jude suggest that his “dear friends” protect themselves from bad influences?
There will always be some people who want to help others persevere and some who, for their own selfish reasons, seek to hold others back.
Though we need to be on the lookout for harmful and ungodly influences, we don’t need to be constantly on the defense. We can take action by encouraging each other, praying for each other, and holding each other accountable.
We can show mercy to those who are struggling with doubts or who have made poor choices, and we can be wise about who we choose to help us too.
By depending on God and looking first to Him for help, we can become strong in our faith and then be better equipped to help others to persevere.
In one of his letters to believers, Peter sought to encourage fellow Christ-followers to be aware of what God has provided for them. He urged them to add to their faith in God the qualities that would help them to live as part of the kingdom of God.
2 Peter 1:3-11:
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self- control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.
For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Sometimes when we’ve had success for a while, we might forget that we need other people in our lives to help us.
Think of your own situations. In what ways do you need support from others so you can persevere well?
Have someone can give you encouragement, compassion, or companionship in a situation where you are struggling.
We talked about people who can help us to persevere. Now, take a moment to think of someone you can encourage and support as they persevere.
How can you encourage and support that person?