The Lord is my banner
Moses built an altar and called its name, The-Lord-Is-My-Banner; ~ Exodus 17:15
Have you ever felt like you were in a battle you couldn’t win? Maybe it wasn’t a physical fight, but an ongoing struggle that left you weary and questioning how much longer you could keep going. Sometimes it feels like no matter how hard you pray or how faithfully you serve, the pressure just will not let up. You are doing everything you know to do, yet victory still feels out of reach.
In Exodus 17, Israel faced a real battle with the Amalekites. While Joshua led the army in the valley, Moses stood on the hill with the rod of God in his hand. As long as Moses’ hands were raised, Israel prevailed. But when his hands grew heavy and began to lower, the enemy gained ground. So, Aaron and Hur came alongside Moses, supporting his hands until sunset, and Israel won the battle. Moses then built an altar and called it The Lord Is My Banner, saying that God Himself was the reason for their victory.
What a great picture this account shows us to not give up in the battle. There have been many times in my life when I felt just like Moses, standing in the middle of a battle, holding my circumstances up before my Lord in prayer and growing weary. If I am being honest, I always try to do it alone. I know God’s grace is enough, so I tend to believe I can handle whatever comes my way by myself. But then the days come when I feel like giving up because the weight of the situation feels too heavy to carry alone. Those are the moments that I realize I need help. Thankfully, God sends friends to come along side me in prayer, holding the situations up with me. People who lift me up in my weariness, encourage me and remind me that I am not fighting by myself. Just as Aaron and Hur supported Moses, God provides strength through others when I run out of my own ability to stand.
You may be facing a situation that feels like an uphill battle. Maybe it is a health challenge, a financial strain, or a relationship that feels stuck. It can be exhausting to keep your faith lifted when circumstances seem unchanging. But the truth is, God is still your banner. He fights for you even when you feel too tired to fight. The victory does not depend on your strength alone but on His power working through you and around you.
Here are some steps you can take today when you need a breakthrough:
- Take time each day to pray and acknowledge that God is your banner. Declare that the battle belongs to Him.
- Allow others to help you. Let trusted friends, family, or church leaders know when you are weary and need prayer support.
- Keep your hands lifted in faith through worship, even when you do not see results immediately. Worship shifts your focus from the battle to the One who brings victory.
- Remember past victories. Write down moments when God has come through for you. They will remind you that He is faithful.
- Build your own “altar of remembrance.” Create a physical or written reminder of how God has provided or strengthened you during tough times.
Today I want to encourage you to let the Lord be your banner in whatever battle you are facing. You may feel tired, but you are not alone. He is fighting for you, surrounding you with people who can hold up your arms, and covering you with His strength. Keep your faith lifted and your heart steady. The same God who brought Israel through will bring you through as well.
Today’s scripture reading: Exodus 17
1 Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the Wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink.
2 Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, “Give us water, that we may drink.”
So Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Lord?”
3 And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
4 So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!”
5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go.
6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.”
And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
7 So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
8 Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
9 And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.”
10 So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
11 And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
12 But Moses’ hands became 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.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.”
15 And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-Lord-Is-My-Banner;
16 for he said, “Because the Lord has sworn: the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
Journal:
- What current battle am I facing where I need to acknowledge that God is my banner?
- Who has God placed in my life to help hold up my arms when I grow weary?
- How can I intentionally remember and celebrate the victories He has already given me?
The Daily Dose 