Last week, I wrote about the importance of maintaining peace with each other. This week, I had the opportunity to reflect again on why our spiritual bond is so important. It has been a tough week for me. The past two years in fact have really stretched me spiritually. In fact, the very things I have been writing about here -- understanding who we are, trusting God, surrendering -- are teachings I am grappling with myself. Experience is indeed the best teacher! But through the highs and lows of life (all relative!), I am grateful that we never have to bear it alone.
Along life's journey, I have been so blown away by the support and love received from those God has placed in my life. It is a blessing I am learning to access more and more.
A little over a year ago, I came across a passage in Acts that really touched my soul:
The Fellowship of the Believers: They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47).
What a wonderful example of how we are called to be with each other! Full of joy, breaking bread together, praying with and serving each other. Notice how out of this love and support of each other, great miracles and favor resulted. This was a reminder to me that, while we all have our unique paths and must be careful to stay focused on God's will (and not the opinions of others), the power of God is magnified when we operate in unity (remember it is not about you!). From Him, the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament,grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
But we're so resistant to reaching out to each other. We have our pride. We feel like we ought to be able to handle it on our own. We are ashamed. We don't want to even say out loud what we are experiencing because then it will be too real. Or we feel like whatever hurt, confusion, or distress we are experiencing is not worthy of conversation. We don't want people to know what's really going on in our lives for fear they will not love us. We feel like we have failed. We've been living a lie and we don't want the truth to come out. We don't need or deserve anyone's help.
All lies we tell ourselves.
Thankfully, God in His infinite love and grace understands that we cannot do it alone. Search Description Even Moses needed help! When Moses cried out, God responded. All Moses had to do was bring his burden to God and God surrounded him with the support he needed. You see, God does not intend for you to operate in the world on your own strength and doing. He wants us to love and support each other; for, if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us . . . for whoever lives in love lives in God and God in them.
So when you feel alone, remember you are not. Give your burdens to God. He will either open your eyes to the people in your life you've been resisting or bring new relationships into your life at just the right time. (Thank God for the "strangers" that "coincidentally" have come into my life with just the right message/confirmation/resource/push I needed at that time!).
Jesus' prayer for all believers was that we all be brought to complete unity -- "then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." Thank you God for the people you have blessed us with to help us carry out our purpose. Thank you for loving us enough to do so.
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