We were made for community. And that does not simply mean that we like talking with people and being around them....we need people, especially as Christians. We can't do everything on our own. In Exodus 17:8-13, we find the story of the Israelites fighting the Amalekites. As long as Moses' arms were raised, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his arms, the Amalekites started winning. So Aaron and Hur put a stone under Moses for him to sit on, and stood on each side of him, keeping his arms up for him. Another beautiful example of this principle can be found in Mark 2:1-12, when the lame man's friends tore a hole in the roof and lowered him through it to get him to Jesus, so that Jesus would heal him.
We are not alone. At least, we shouldn't be. God wants us to spend time with each other, and love each other, and confess our sins to each other, and pray for each other. We cannot always win our battles on our own - in fact, we shouldn't try. We are in a deadly place when we try to live a victorious life alone. Just imagine what would have happened to the Israelites if Moses had refused the help of Aaron and Hur, or what would have happened to the lame man if his pride had not allowed his friends to take him to Jesus.
I know I've said this before, but it's truly amazing to me how much happier I am now that I'm finally grasping this principle. When I start my day off with a determination to be real with people, people seem to come out of the woodwork. Today in church I had four separate people whom I had never spoken with before come up to me and talk to me, ask me how my week was, see if there was anything they could pray for me about, etc....and I did the same with others. In a way, the best part of this is that nothing physical in my life has really changed. My dad's still super stressed with work. My best friends are still far away from me. I have still recently unexpectedly lost a friendship with a dear friend, most likely for forever. I'm still living in a single, without any people to keep me company. I still long to be married. I'm still dying to graduate. I'm still intimidated by the future. But those things don't overwhelm me anymore.
We can only "bear each others' burdens" (Galatians 6:2) if we let others in. Let them in. Don't try to make it through life alone. We are called to live a victorious life, not one in which the trials of life overwhelm us. I pray that God will send us people who will help us have the strength to lift our arms to the LORD most high, as He did with Moses. God is so, so good. Don't let the devil win...God never meant for us to suffer alone!!
We are not alone. At least, we shouldn't be. God wants us to spend time with each other, and love each other, and confess our sins to each other, and pray for each other. We cannot always win our battles on our own - in fact, we shouldn't try. We are in a deadly place when we try to live a victorious life alone. Just imagine what would have happened to the Israelites if Moses had refused the help of Aaron and Hur, or what would have happened to the lame man if his pride had not allowed his friends to take him to Jesus.
I know I've said this before, but it's truly amazing to me how much happier I am now that I'm finally grasping this principle. When I start my day off with a determination to be real with people, people seem to come out of the woodwork. Today in church I had four separate people whom I had never spoken with before come up to me and talk to me, ask me how my week was, see if there was anything they could pray for me about, etc....and I did the same with others. In a way, the best part of this is that nothing physical in my life has really changed. My dad's still super stressed with work. My best friends are still far away from me. I have still recently unexpectedly lost a friendship with a dear friend, most likely for forever. I'm still living in a single, without any people to keep me company. I still long to be married. I'm still dying to graduate. I'm still intimidated by the future. But those things don't overwhelm me anymore.
We can only "bear each others' burdens" (Galatians 6:2) if we let others in. Let them in. Don't try to make it through life alone. We are called to live a victorious life, not one in which the trials of life overwhelm us. I pray that God will send us people who will help us have the strength to lift our arms to the LORD most high, as He did with Moses. God is so, so good. Don't let the devil win...God never meant for us to suffer alone!!
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