We Need Each Other

The English poet and author, John Milton, once said, “Loneliness is the first thing which God's eye named not good.” God recognized that Adam needed a helpmate, so he created Eve.

Yet so often, we fail to recognize our need for help. I was raised as an only child, so doing things on my own comes pretty naturally to me. When someone offers to help me with something my response is almost always, “No thanks, I’ve got it.” It’s the adult version of every toddlers favorite phrase, “I Can Do It Myself!”

I know I’m not the only one like this. Why is it so difficult for us to accept help from others? The truth is. however, that when we don’t allow others to lend a hand, not only are we robbing ourselves of receiving a blessing, we are also stealing a blessing from the giver.

A verse most people are familiar with is Philippians 4:13, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength”. Many people are less familiar with the next verse which reads, “Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.” You see, in this section of his letter, the Apostle Paul was thanking the church at Philippi for their gifts and assistance during his missionary journeys. Paul acknowledged that God gave him the strength to endure the many trials he faced, however he repeatedly thanked the Philippians for being the only church that sent him assistance. He also assured them that their gifts were not overlooked by God who found them to be an acceptable, fragrant offering. The “bless-ers” became the blessed.

I suppose the message here is that God will provide the strength to get us through anything, but we do not need to go it alone. We need each other! Pray today that God will show you some areas in your life where you could use a helping hand. Then ask him to send the right people along to offer the love and support that you need. And, pray that when they do, you’ll accept their offer.