This post is all due to my dear wife; who has taught me that I don't have to strive alone. I love you Marianne. Thanks for being such a huge encourager and teacher. If others knew the battles that you've known they'd never speak to me again. But I'm so thankful that you have never quit on me.
Hollywood is notorious for making the whole concept of
working alone out to be something heroic.
I'll bet you can name
five movies in
five seconds where it was up to
one man or woman to save the day...or the building...or the town...
or the world! But it is not scriptural. I know that we have men like Samson, David, Shamgar, and others who fought
alone. But with Samson, it was an appointment by God. David and Shamgar went alone because
no one else would do it, and the
only time we see David
alone is with the giant. Moses
didn't do it alone; he had help. And when he
was alone, we see a weak man who argued and told God he couldn't do it. Ultimately,
none of the men I described did it alone. God was with them! The men I see that did things
alone—without God—were men who were unstable and ungodly. One man in particular that I can think of that did things alone is
Cain. Genesis 4:16 says very clearly, "And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden." Notice the very beginning part of that verse, "Cain went out
from the presence of The Lord." What a
sad thing to read. It's sadder to read when you're a pastor. So
many go out from
God's presence. The Bible
never encourages people to do things alone. Just look at the many admonitions; "It is not good that man should be alone" (Genesis 2:18), "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity" (Psalm 133:1)! "Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour" (Ecclesiastes 4:9). And of course, one of my favorites, "That ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel" (Philippians 1:27). In almost every perspective of the Bible we see how loneliness is
discouraged. Even the very mentioning of
church which means
assembly is
far from doing things alone. We see the instruction for soulwinning as two by two. If you've never met me, you may think me an extrovert after all you've read; but you can ask
anyone who knows me
well, and they will tell you it is one of my greatest struggles. I have a tendency to
do it all at the church, and am
glad to do it as long as I don't have to work with anyone. It's only been recently that I have seen the need to share the load with others. So in all honesty; I'm not posting this for all you
people people. I'm writing this to those of you who tend toward the recluse. Alone time
with God is
not alone time. It's
dialogue. So if you really think about it. Your prayer life might be wrong! Are you praying alone? Or are you actually praying as though
God is there? When Jesus gave the outline of proper prayer, it began with
the acknowledgement of another person, "Our Father." So we have
asking as a characteristic of striving
together. It's
never bad to
ask. It is encouraged all throughout the Bible.
Accountability is another
gift of doing things with someone else.
Assistance is another characteristic. This is very important. You may be able to do
a lot of things but it's those moments when you
can't that having
help nearby is powerful. Most of the time, the things that can't be done
alone are the things that
advance us. But if we expect to advance, we must be willing to seek for help. Rome wasn't built in a day...
a lot of people took
a lot of time to build it. Your pastor can't do it alone. He needs you! Ephesians 4:11 and 12 says, "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the
perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." Beloved, if you take out "for the perfecting of the saints," it will say, "And he gave some...pastors and teachers for the work of the ministry." And
many people interpret it that way. But that's not how it is written. God gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers for the
perfecting of the saints to do the ministry
together! I conclude with this; if you're the kind of person that says, "I have so much potential and feel so unnoticed;" then chances are,
you don't notice them either. Stopping noticing
yourself and start noticing what
others need. You'll be surprised how far it takes you! So
Fan that Flame together!
