When you take an honest look at your life, do you have true community? We were created to live and function within a community of people. However, many people make the choice to live this Christian life alone. When I say alone, I don’t mean they are not around people or they don’t have friends. I’m talking about allowing another person or a group of people to have access to the deepest part of who you are. I’m talking about sharing your deepest fears, secrets and failures with a group of people that you feel completely and totally safe with who won’t judge you, but will love you right where you are and then help you get to where you want to be. Sometimes we shy away from community because we are afraid of what people will think of us if they truly get to know us. Others of us struggle with trust because we’ve been burnt before. Others of us get into groups but then aren’t honest with the people in the group about our struggles. Others feel as though, “I’m grown and I don’t need people in my business.” In this blog article I want to highlight 5 reasons why everyone needs community. These 5 things can bring P.E.A.C.E. into your life if you truly tap into the right community of people. Each letter in this acronym represents not only what we can gain from others but also what we must be willing to do for others who are in our small group.
#1 – PRAY FOR US
There are several examples of the power of praying for others in the Bible but I want to highlight one. In Acts 12:5 it says,
So Peter was kept in prison, but those in the church were earnestly PRAYING to God for him.
As a direct result of the church’s prayers, Peter was miraculously freed from prison. One of the main reasons why you need to be in a community of people is for people to offer up prayers on your behalf. Could it be that some of your prayers are not being answered because you have not invited others to join you in prayer? Could it be that you are not experiencing true freedom and breakthrough because you have not made yourself accountable to others so they can pray for you? James 5:16 encourages us to make ourselves accountable to others through prayer.
So confess your sins to one another and PRAY for one another so that you may be healed. The PRAYER of a righteous person has great effectiveness.
#2 – EXHORT US
Have you given someone or some people permission to speak into your life and correct you when you are wrong? We all need people in our lives who know us so well that when we stray off course they can tell us the straight truth about ourselves. The best example of this is found in the ever so familiar passage in 2 Samuel 12. I don’t want to go through the entire story but after David sinned and committed adultery with Bathsheba, the prophet Nathan was there to tell him that he had done wrong and that he needed to get right with God. Nathan didn’t sugar coat David’s sin but said straight to his face in verse 7 that he was WRONG! David’s response is how ours should be when someone comes to us. He listened to Nathan and began to repent to God for his sin. I have a few questions for you.
How do you respond when people rebuke you? How do you respond when someone pulls you aside out of concern and lets you know that you have been straying away? Do you automatically become defensive and begin to judge that person and question why they should be telling you what you should be doing, or do you really consider what they are saying and pray and see if there is truth in what they are saying?
We all need people like Nathan in our lives who aren’t afraid to challenge us and exhort us when we stray.
#3 – ADVISE US
When you are facing a difficult life decision do you make it on your own or do you seek godly counsel who can help point you in the right direction? We need people who can advise us at critical junctures in our lives. In Ex. 18 a man named Jethro, who was Moses’ father-in-law, gives Moses some valuable and timely advice. At this time, Moses was trying to do too much. Moses was a warrior, husband, father, prophet, and he had the responsibility of judging the disputes of 2 million Israelites “from morning till evening” (v. 13). HELLO! Does that sound like anyone out there? Trying to do TOO MUCH but thinking you can do it all! Jethro saw that the work load that Moses took on was much too much for him to handle on his own and advised him in verse 17 saying,
What you are doing is NOT GOOD. You and these people who come to you will only WEAR YOURSELVES OUT. The work is TOO HEAVY FOR YOU. You cannot handle it ALONE.
Whew! Some of us need to get that revelation right now! Jethro advised Moses of being a workaholic and Moses humbly responded positively. We need people like Jethro in our lives. We need people to help us make wise decisions and provide timely counsel at critical times in our lives. We are encouraged not to ever “lean to our own understanding.”
#4 – CARRY US
Sometimes we hit rock bottom in life and we don’t even have enough strength to manage our own life. We are desperate. We are hopeless. We are searching. We are lost. We are so low we need other people to carry us. In Mark 2 there is an awesome example of this. There was a man who was paralyzed. But he had four friends who were willing to carry him (literally). They brought him to Jesus because they were seeking healing for their paralyzed friend. As much as he may have wanted to go to Jesus himself, he was paralyzed and he couldn’t do it by himself. He needed his friends to carry him to Jesus. There are some things in all of our lives that we try to do ourselves and we simply cannot do them by ourselves. We are “paralyzed” in that area. We try to break free from addictions but we are paralyzed. We try to break off a toxic relationship but we are paralyzed. We try to tolerate an unloving spouse but we are paralyzed. Don’t be too proud to allow others to help you and carry you along sometimes. Just make sure they will always carry you to Jesus, someone who has the solution to your problem.
#5 – ENCOURAGE US
Have you ever been so discouraged that you questioned whether things were ever going to change in your life? I’ll be transparent. I struggle with discouragement on a regular basis. For this reason I need people in my life who will encourage me from time to time. In 1 Samuel 18:1-4 and 1 Samuel 20 King Saul was trying to kill David repeatedly and David eventually had to flee for his life. David was feeling scared, lonely, sad and depressed because he was doing everything right but through no fault of his own, Saul sought to kill him out of jealousy. Years prior God had told him he would be the next king of Israel but nothing around him seemed to suggest that was going to happen any time soon. However, his good friend Jonathan came and restored him and encouraged him in the Lord. He spoke some things into David’s life that put “courage” back into him. All of us need to be encouraged at times. On the flip side, be known to others as an encourager. People may forget a financial gift you give them but they will never forget a person who was there for them at their deepest and darkest times in life who deposited courage back into them.
SUMMARY
Build BRIDGES and not BARRIERS with other people. Allow people to bring P.E.A.C.E. into your life as you allow them to Pray, Exhort, Advise, Carry, and Encourage you. And be sure to do the same for the people in your community.