Then Amalek came and fought against Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek Tomorrow. I will station myself on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”
So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.
— Exodus 17:9-11
It was not that, as Joshua prevailed, Moses lifted up his hands in praise. Neither was it that Joshua and his army won the day through their own valiant effort. This became the first lesson impressed upon Joshua. He had committed himself to follow the Lord and went fearlessly to the battlefield to fight, but it was Moses who was really doing the fighting. This is the first lesson we all must learn in serving the Lord: we must fight, but we must also realize that our victory is based upon the prayer of Christ and His interceding believers. In this portion, Moses represents both the heavenly Christ and His believers praying for us as we battle for Him on the earth (Heb. 4:14; 7:25; 1 Tim. 2:8).
We should feel very free to try different things as we serve, but we cannot say any success is based upon our efforts. Anyone with talent can come in and have some outward success. If we are caught by that, we will miss Christ’s way. Thus, the first thing we must realize is how incapable we are, and how capable the Lord is.
Adapted from Joshua: A Life of Service, page 13.
Tomorrow: “Victory through Prayer”