They say there’s strength in numbers, and I'd agree that that statement is true. I've even spoken to my children about this. I've told them that they are stronger and safer together. I've told them that being alone can be dangerous, especially while they are young. But even for us adults, the same is true. We are most vulnerable when we are alone. And I don't just mean physically, but I mean spiritually as well. When we are alone, we are more likely to be attacked mentally. This is why it is so important to keep a community of believers around us. The people that surround us become our support system. They look out for us in our moments of weakness. They walk with us along the path of purpose, even in the times when our will falls short. There’s no denying this fact. This is a principle that is expressed repeatedly in scripture.
Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 NLT)
This scripture is usually spoken of in relation to marriage, but the principle can be applied beyond marital relationships. Through this scripture we are told that being alone can put us in real trouble, and that being alone leaves us in a space where we can easily be attacked and defeated. But, we are also told that having another person beside us can protect us, because when we slip and fall, that other person is close enough to reach down and pull us back up. The presence of another person strengthens our chances of overcoming the deepest pitfalls in life. But there’s one more level to the strength of numbers. According to Ephesians, “three are even better.”
The presence of God in the situation creates a protective barrier that isn’t easily broken.
This is why a successful marriage is only accomplished when the Spirit of God is present in the situation. God is the glue that keeps the couple together. The power of God is what strengthens the couple to be able to withstand any storm, and come out of it stronger than before. Only the presence of God can accomplish this.
“I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” (Matthew 18:19-20 NLT)
This is Jesus talking. He is telling his disciples that the presence of God dwells wherever two or more gather together as His followers. Jesus lived His life in an expression of the importance of community. He could have walked the earth alone. He knew what he was sent here to accomplish. He wasn’t oblivious to His calling as many of us are. He knew the Father’s plan, and He knew the Father’s timing. He could have reached purpose without friends; yet, He chose to do life in community. He chose a group of followers that would accompany Him in the mission that he was sent here to accomplish.
Walking with other believers strengthens us. This is how God intended it to be.
As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. (Proverbs 27:17 NLT)
God uses those around us to refine our character, strengthen our faith, and grow us into purpose. So there is no doubt that God uses our community to strengthen us, but what if I told you that God also uses seclusion to strengthen us as well? What if I told you that God will sometimes bring us to places of aloneness, in order to produce a fruit that could not be produced within community?
In my experience of being a Christian, this idea is so contrary to what I have been taught. We are all told that we need community to survive, and I second that. As I’ve said, this is true, and I do not refute this fact. But, there is another side of this topic that we don’t discuss enough. And that is that walking in faith can sometimes feel quite lonely. Yes, we might have friends that walk with us, and support us. But, the thing about walking in faith, is that God sometimes reveals His will to a single person, not a group. So while a fellow believer might have faith and support your walk in one season, they might not be as faith filled to support your walk in another season. And this doesn’t mean that they aren’t good friends, it just means that they aren’t as equipped to be there for you as they once were. And in the event that you find yourself in this space, where you are alone in faith, you must be able to stand on the word that God spoke to you.
We don’t need the approval or support of others to walk in faith.
The bible is full of men and woman that chose to walk in faith, regardless of whether they had the support of those closest to them. When God spoke to Noah, and told him to build an ark, Noah didn’t stop to consult his family and friends. He immediately followed the Lord’s instructions. When God called Abraham and told him to leave his homeland and move to a place that He would lead him to, Abraham gathered his family and possessions, and he left immediately. When God told Abraham to sacrifice his son on an altar, He got up the next morning and left to do what God required him to do, in faith. Abraham never paused to see if He had the support of others. And these are just a few examples.
Jesus walked with His disciples, a group of men that expressed their faith in Him, and they vowed to never leave His side. But these are the same men that would later betray, deny, or abandon Him in the end. Jesus loved His disciples; He loved the communion that He received from spending time with them, but he also knew that there was a limit to what He could expect from them. In Matthew chapter 16, we get a glimpse into these limitations. In this passage, Peter gets a revelation from God.
Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:15-16 NLT)
This is an amazing revelation that Peter received. Jesus is the Messiah, the One sent to earth to save humanity. Surely this revelation built Peter’s faith in Him. And surely, after learning that Jesus is the Son of God, Peter would have understood the authority the Jesus has. But just a few verses later, we read that this was not the case.
From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead. But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!” Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” (Matthew 16:21-23 NLT)
Peter knew that Jesus was the Son of God, so why would he respond to Jesus by rebuking Him? Well according the Jesus, Peter was responding from a human perspective. So it wasn’t that Peter had lost his faith in Jesus, or that he was all of the sudden a bad friend, Peter was just not seeing the bigger picture.
If you are walking in faith, you have most likely felt the disappointment of not being supported by those closest to you. You have probably felt alone at times, and maybe even questioned whether you made the right decision to trust God. But allow the stories of other men and woman, and the journey of Jesus, to encourage you today. This season is not about loneliness; it is about seclusion.
God will sometimes allow us to be let down by others, so that we can gain a deeper dependence on Him.
Jesus knows full well what it means to be let down by those closest to you. He knows how you feel. He went through the same struggles that you are facing right now.
Jesus was fully God, but He was fully man. This means that He had all of the same needs and desires that we have. Although Jesus was the Son of God, He still struggled with all the emotions of His humanity. He still carried the burden of the pain that He knew He would have to endure on the cross. And He too, desired to have the support of His friends.
Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” (Matthew 26:36-39 NLT)
I love this passage because of how beautifully it expresses Jesus’s humanity. At this point in time, He is struggling with what He must endure. And naturally, He reaches out for support from a few of His closest friends. The man in Him desires to draw strength from these three disciples, but the God in Him realizes that His strength can only come from the One that sent Him.
Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”(Matthew 26:40-41 NKJV)
These were the men closest to Him. They knew the sacrifice that Jesus would have to endure. He had been speaking to them of things to come, but they could not bring themselves to be there for Him in that moment. In the most important time of Jesus’s life, His friends let Him down. They were not there for Him the way He desired them to be.
Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.” When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open. (Matthew 26:42-43 NLT)
I can not imagine how much of a discouragement this was for Jesus. He’d always known the assignment that He was sent here to complete, but now the time had come. He was sent here for such a time as this, but the thought of it all, overwhelmed Him. And as He reached out for His friend's support, they were no where to be found.
Have you found yourself here before? In the place where the matters that you have to take care of are too much to bear on your own? Maybe it is the calling on your life. Maybe it is the journey of faith that you are on. Maybe it’s the burden of raising your kids, interceding for your marriage, or putting food on the table. There’s been a time in your life when you’ve felt like life was throwing too much at you, and there was no one around to help carry the load. There were times when those closest to you let you down, and you felt like Jesus. You felt like if anyone should have your back, it would be that person, but they were no where to be found.
This is the space that Jesus found himself in. He felt lonely; He was secluded, but He wasn’t alone. As hurt as He was, He remembered His Father in heaven. He remembered that it was His Father’s will that He desired to be done. And as much as He wanted to have His friends by His side, He knew that this road was for Him, and Him alone. This was a difficult time for Jesus, but it was a time that He understood fully. As He asked his friends to pray for strength from the Spirit, the scripture says that He walked a little further to pray alone. He knew that the strength that He needed could only come from heaven.
Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:43-44 NKJV)
The strength that we need can only come from above. This is why our seasons of seclusion are so crucial. When we are going through difficulties, we tend to reach out to those around us for support. We tend to grab ahold of those that have had our backs in the past, but what if that isn’t what God wants for us? Our strength has to come from Him, and Him alone. And this is something that we only learn in seclusion.
While we can be strengthen by our friends, there is no greater strength than the strength of our God. And we gain His strength in seclusion. It is in those times, when we are out of options, that we reach for Him. It is when we are in our darkest hour, that we weep before Him, and wait for Him to strengthen us. There is nothing like the strength of God. It is His strength that enabled a man to defeat a giant. It is His strength that enabled three Hebrew men to stand in a blazing fire. And it is His strength that gave Jesus the ability to bear the cross. Jesus performed miracles because He was completely submitted to the will of God. He did the impossible because He found His strength in God alone. And His word says that we will do even greater works.
“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. (John 14:12 NLT)
He tells us that we can do greater works because He is going to be with His Father. But why?
But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. (John 16:7 NLT)
The Holy Spirit strengthens us in seclusion.
When we are alone with Him, He speaks to us. He is that still small voice…the voice of God. He is the one that tells us that we can do it, even when no one else believes we can. And He is the only one strong enough to handle the burdens that we carry.
Right now, He is with you. He sees all that you are holding on to, and He says, “Give it to me.” His yoke is easy. His burden is light. So if you are feeling heavy, know that His will for you is peace, know that His will for you is joy. Relinquish your burdens, and receive His strength. All that He has is available, but you must receive it.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for reminding me today that my strength is found in you alone. Thank you for bringing me to a place of seclusion, so that I can be reminded of the dreams that you placed in my heart, and so that you can show me your will for my life. Today, I am making the decision to walk in faith. And even when I don’t have the support of others, I will choose to trust in you. I choose to stand on your promises, until I see them manifested in my life. And today, I choose to give all of my burdens to you. I choose to receive your blessings of peace, joy, and strength, through my faith in you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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