Lifting Others as You Lead

Today, I want to dive into how to lead like Moses did on the hilltop of Rephidim—by lifting others even as you lead.

This is the highest form of leadership maturity: when your strength empowers others, your influence multiplies through community, and your victories are shared.

You should want to learn how to do this because no vision, organization, or calling thrives on solo endurance. Sustainable leadership is shared leadership. When you learn to let others lift with you, your reach expands, your burnout decreases, and your legacy deepens.

Unfortunately, many leaders still believe leadership means carrying everything alone. This is a lie. They confuse solitude with strength and end up exhausted, isolated, and spiritually dry.

The #1 Reason Leaders Struggle to Lift Others

The biggest reason is pride disguised as responsibility.

Leaders often fear that sharing weight means losing control. They equate delegation with dilution, vulnerability with weakness, and collaboration with compromise.

But God designed leadership as interdependence, not independence. The Red Sea was crossed through faith; the battle with Amalek was won through shared strength.

Here are 4 other reasons leaders fail to lift others as they lead:

• #1: Fear of appearing weak. They think asking for help signals failure.

• #2: Lack of trust. They assume no one else can carry the vision correctly.

• #3: Impatience. They think partnership slows momentum.

• #4: Poor relational cultivation. They lead projects better than people.

The good news? Every leader can learn how to share strength without losing authority. When you do, your leadership becomes more relational, resilient, and redemptive.

Here’s how, step by step.

Step 1: Recognize That Leadership Is Not a Solo Sport

There comes a moment in every leader’s life when strength fades, vision wavers, and endurance feels impossible. Pretending otherwise isn’t noble—it’s dangerous.

Moses discovered this truth on a hilltop overlooking Rephidim. Israel fought Amalek below; Moses prayed above. When his arms lifted, Israel prevailed. When they dropped, they faltered.

Eventually, even Moses—God’s chosen deliverer—grew weary.

Aaron and Hur didn’t wait for permission; they acted. They rolled a stone under Moses and held up his hands until sunset. Victory didn’t come through one man’s might—it came through shared endurance.

Key principle:

Leadership doesn’t collapse from external pressure; it collapses from internal isolation.

Step 2: Learn the Lessons from the Hilltop

1. Every leader gets tired.

Even miracle-workers have muscles that ache. Leadership fatigue is not failure—it’s feedback.

2. Spiritual work requires physical support.

Prayer has posture. Vision demands logistics. Leaders need tangible help—stones to sit on, hands to hold.

3. Support doesn’t diminish authority; it sustains it.

Aaron and Hur didn’t take command—they took weight. Accepting help isn’t weakness; it’s wisdom.

4. Victory belongs to teams, not heroes.

Moses prayed, Joshua fought, Aaron and Hur lifted. No one wins alone.

5. Power flows through partnership.

The staff of God wasn’t magic—it was obedience embodied. Shared obedience becomes multiplied strength.

Takeaway: The more secure you are in your calling, the freer you are to share the spotlight.

Step 3: Build the Anatomy of Shared Leadership

Moses — The Visionary and the Vulnerable

He led with authority yet admitted exhaustion. Vulnerability invites trust.

Joshua — The Executor in the Field

He turned vision into victory. Every leader needs a Joshua to translate purpose into action.

Aaron and Hur — The Stabilizers

They represent awareness and empathy. They saw need and moved instinctively. The best teams don’t just follow—they fortify.

Step 4: Learn from Modern Leaders Who Lifted Others

Dwight D. Eisenhower – The Power of Coordination

Eisenhower led the Allied invasion of Europe not through dominance, but diplomacy. His gift was uniting strong personalities under shared purpose.
Lesson: Influence multiplies through humility and clarity.

Indra Nooyi – The Power of Inclusion

As CEO of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi led with empathy. She thanked employees’ families personally, reminding them their sacrifice mattered.
Lesson: Gratitude sustains culture more than goals ever will.

NASA’s Apollo Missions – The Power of Collective Genius

When Apollo 13 malfunctioned, Flight Director Gene Kranz rallied engineers to innovate under pressure. “Failure is not an option” wasn’t arrogance—it was faith in collective capability.
Lesson: Collaboration is modern intercession. Shared intelligence saves missions.

Step 5: Build a Culture of Lifted Leadership

Here’s how to create a team that holds one another’s arms high:

1. Identify Your Aarons and Hurs. Choose people who value you more than your title. Empower them to speak honestly and act compassionately.

2. Normalize Needing Help. Model vulnerability from the top. Say, “I need support.” That sentence liberates your culture.

3. Train Eyes for Awareness. Teach your team to notice fatigue, frustration, and overwhelm in each other. Awareness prevents collapse.

4. Share the “Why,” Not Just the “What.” When people understand purpose, they lift with passion.

5. Establish Rhythms of Check-in. Weekly prayer, monthly reflection, quarterly renewal—spaces for reset.

6. Celebrate Mutual Wins. Gratitude turns followers into partners.

7. Mentor for Multiplication. Train successors before you need them.

8. Balance Accountability with Grace. Hold high standards but build soft landings.

9. Pray Together. Spiritual unity precedes organizational unity.

10. Encourage the Encouragers. Lift those who are constantly lifting others.

Step 6: Adopt a Theology of Shared Strength

From Genesis to Revelation, God reveals Himself through collaboration. The Trinity models unity in diversity. Jesus sent disciples two by two. Paul called the Church one body with many members.

Leadership that imitates heaven shares both burdens and blessings.

Truth: The moment Moses sat down, grace stood up.

When you make room for others to carry the weight, you make room for God to multiply the outcome.

Step 7: Practice Lifted Leadership Daily

Here’s how to make shared strength your daily rhythm:

• Begin each day asking, “Who can I lift today?”

• End each day asking, “Who lifted me today?”

• Keep a “gratitude ledger” of people who sustain you.

• Write one note a week to someone who holds your arms steady.

• Never let a victory pass without naming the team who made it possible.

Faith Fact: Gratitude is not sentimental—it’s spiritual fuel.

Devotional Reflection: The Hands That Tremble

The holiest act Moses performed that day wasn’t raising his hands—it was letting others hold them.

Pride whispers, “I’ve got it.”
Humility whispers back, “Hold me steady.”

When your strength falters, let grace take the other side.

“Lord, teach me to need others without shame
and to serve others without pride.
Make my leadership a circle, not a throne.
When my arms grow heavy, send those who will lift them.
When others falter, make me quick to lift theirs.
Let every victory banner read Your name, not mine.”

Reflection & Discussion Questions

1. What signs show that your “arms” are getting tired?

2. Who are your Aarons and Hurs right now?

3. How comfortable are you with receiving help? Why or why not?

4. What culture of gratitude or collaboration can you build this month?

5. How can you make prayer and partnership part of your weekly rhythm?

6. Which modern case study—Eisenhower, Nooyi, or NASA—speaks most to your leadership season?

7. How can you better lift others in your organization?

8. What one task or decision could you delegate this week to empower someone else?

9. How might pride be keeping you from shared strength?

10. What step can you take today to make leadership more relational than positional?

Closing Charge: Leadership That Lasts

When the sun set over Rephidim, Moses didn’t claim credit—he built an altar and named it The Lord is my banner. Victory belonged to God, but He achieved it through community.

That’s how enduring leadership works.

The hilltop story isn’t about one leader’s strength; it’s about shared perseverance. The world doesn’t need more lone heroes; it needs humble teams.

So, as you lead this week, remember:
Your raised hands may inspire others—but your open heart will multiply them.

Find your hilltop.
Lift your staff.
And never climb alone.

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