You Don't Have To Fight Alone
One of the beauties of Christian community is unlocked when you realize “I don’t have to fight my daily battles by myself”. Honesty, vulnerability, intentional friendship. One of God’s greatest gifts. Press into community, it will change your life.
I am not naive, though, I know there are many who say “I want that, Josh… but I can’t find it. I can’t find true community.” I would simply offer three thoughts:
1- God Knows Loneliness
Jesus was lonely at times. Consider Hebrews 4:15 - “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses…Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Alterations mine)
I know loneliness. It’s terrible and a unique type of pain. But I also know that God met me when I felt very alone as a tired hospital chaplain in the midst of a pandemic. Or a single seminary student surrounded by families. I don’t know why some of us walk through loneliness, but I know God cares.
He is not indifferent towards your pain.
2- Are you fostering community?
For a lot of us though, there are people around us. We might not like them. We might write them off because of certain personality traits. We may simply think it’s too hard to break into a group of friends and so we stand on the fringes.
I know this difficulty too. But I can honestly say some of my deepest friends started off as people I didn’t feel drawn to. People that I didn’t seem to get along with. Community does not happen by magic, it happens through work. Through intentionality.
Do you need friends? Well there are people out there that need friends too. Go love them. You may be surprised who God uses in your life to love you well.
3- Surrounded but unknown.
Some of you may be surrounded by people and yet feel unbelievably alone. When I’ve felt this, it is because I’ve not risked being known. There’s a word for that, it is called vulnerability. Many of our isolation problems are not due to the lack of people around us but due to the lack of vulnerability we risk in those friendships.
Cultivating deep friendships is incredibly hard. I do not write judgmentally, but gently. Do not give up, the Lord will provide.
Thankful for my friends,
Josh.