By: Steve Wilmot
Edgerton, Ohio
The giant redwoods in California grow up to 350 feet and can weigh 1.6 billion pounds. Surprisingly, their roots only burrow into the soil about five feet.
Since they are so top heavy, why doesn’t the wind easily blow them over then? The answer is in their root system.
Though only five feet deep, the roots of the giant redwoods stretch out 100 feet or more and intertwine with the roots of surrounding trees.
Their connection with one another strengthens them to survive storms and remain standing. Though high winds would easily topple one, linked together they withstand the harshest weather conditions.
Who are you intertwined with, or are you trying to stand alone? Are you battling your fears, setbacks, worries, disappointments, and shattered dreams on your own? The “I don’t need anyone else” mantra is a certain recipe for heartache, depression, and failure.
In your spiritual journey, you need other people walking alongside you. It’s never “Jesus and me,” though many believers live like it is. In reality, it’s always “Jesus and we.”
God never intended you to be the Lone Ranger. You need someone beside you, and someone needs you beside them. To support and defend each other. To encourage and pray for each other. To wrestle with fear and temptation together.
“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves” (Ecclesiastes 4.12). Instead, we pull into our garages and lower the door to avoid interaction with our neighbors. We put up privacy fences. We order food from home and have it delivered.
We attend church but keep our distance from others. We zip in just before the service begins and zip out when the congregation stands for the closing song so we can avoid interaction with anyone.
If we get cornered by someone who asks us, “How are you, friend?” we spit out our pat answer, “Fine. I’m just fine,” and dash for the nearest exit.
It’s time to get back to God’s design for lives that work: honest, meaningful relationships. Solomon puts it concisely: “Two are better than one.” End of discussion.
Solomon adds an important reason to prove his point: “If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up” (Ecclesiastes 4.9-10).
How many times have you fallen, and no one was around to help you up? You faced cancer alone. You struggled through financial loss by yourself. Your marriage blew up, and you isolated yourself in your house.
\One of your children got arrested for driving drunk, and you dealt with it single-handedly. You battled an addiction on your own when what you needed was someone to walk through it with you.
A true friend knows all your stories and still loves you. Do you have anyone like that in your life?
God didn’t design you to do life solo. God created you for community. We need each other.
Paul endured a dangerous voyage to Rome as a prisoner. Chained. Shipwrecked. Bitten by a poisonous snake. Scheduled to stand before Caesar. Imagine his emotions: pummeled by what ifs, lonely, worried, afraid.
But he had friends who wouldn’t think of letting him go through this crisis by himself. They walked 65 miles on foot to accompany him the final miles to Rome. Their brother in Christ needed them. He needed more than words. More than prayers prayed from a distance.
These guys didn’t quote Bible verses to him. They didn’t unpack their guitars and lead an hour of praise and worship. They just showed up. They couldn’t fix his plight, but they would not let him go through any more of it alone… and that’s what Paul needed most.
“At the sight of these men Paul thanked God and was encouraged” (Acts 27.15). No wonder. Do you have anyone like that in your life? A handful of friends you meet with regularly to build relationships around the Word, prayer, and honesty?
Who walk with you on your spiritual journey? Folks you’ve given permission to look behind the mask and really see how you’re doing?
You pray for them; they pray for you. You love and care for them; they love and care for you. They celebrate your victories and help you get back up again after you fall; you celebrate their victories and help them up when they stumble.
Do you have any buddies like that? They won’t magically appear; you must go get them.
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Steve Wilmot is a former Edgerton, Ohio area pastor who now seeks “to still bear fruit in old age” through writing. He is the author of seven books designed to assist believers to make steady progress on their spiritual journey.
