I enjoy team sports. There’s something amazing about watching people work together towards a common prize. Eleven men on a football field, pushing for the end zone – while eleven other men try to push them the other direction. A baseball infield learning to coordinate their movements to turn those double plays. A basketball team executing a pick-and-roll to move the guard into a better position to hit a jumper or get that alley-oop pass to the center for a thunderous dunk.
In these sports, you rely on your teammates. If a quarterback steps onto the gridiron alone, he hasn’t much chance against the defense (let alone who snaps him the ball?). If a pitcher stands alone on the mound with no one in the field that hit that would typically be a double will easily be an inside-the-park homerun as the pitcher chases down the ball. Team sports are designed to require reliance on the people around you.
God never intended for us to navigate our lives alone. Certainly, we should rely on Him (1 Peter 5:7 tells us to cast our cares on Him). Additionally, He provided us with our brothers and sisters in Christ as we walk our paths on earth.
Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up. Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm? And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)
God tells us the importance of having people to go through life with us. Surrounding ourselves with people who encourage us to do good (1 Corinthians 15:33) and be wise (Proverbs 13:20) can help us to grow (Proverbs 27:17) in our walk with Him. Sometimes our pride whispers in our ear that we should try to do things on our own so we’re not a burden or inconvenience. If you do a survey of the New Testament, we learn two things about God’s expectations for our relationships with each other: love one another and serve one another (there’s A LOT to unpack there – future post). If we have the right people in our lives, they will not only be willing to help us, they will appreciate the opportunity to serve.
So, find those you can lean on for support (spiritual or physical) and strength in your daily walk.
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