We All Need People
There’s a large scratch in the wood floor of my home that serves as a constant reminder to me that I’m a work in progress and desperately need Jesus. Let me explain..
Several years ago we refinished the wood floors on the main level of our home. If you’ve never refinished flooring in your house, you may not know that in order to refinish the wood you have to pull everything off of it for days so the new stain can cure and set. That means every sofa, every rug, every single piece of furniture has to find another place for several DAYS, and you cannot even walk inside your house until everything is set. It’s quite an ordeal.
We left town for about a week while our floors were refinished, and when we got home we couldn’t wait to replace the furniture and settle back in. Steve and I immediately began unloading our garage of all the furniture, but before we got very far, we realized how heavy some of our couches were. Steve offered insisted he call a friend to come help, but my stubborn-self swore I could do it. Together, we walked the first couch around the front of our home so we could bring it in the front door and with each step my arms felt more and more like jello. I refused to admit I couldn’t do it on my own, so we took breaks every few feet, giving my arms a rest and my pride a reset. Once we got up the steps leading into our foyer, I knew I was in trouble. Willing myself inside the doorway of our home I got the couch just far enough to clear the entryway when it dropped from my arms and fell to the floor. It all happened so quickly and without warning that Steve pushed the couch toward me creating a huge gash into our newly finished flooring leaving me embarrassed, frustrated, and with a permanent mark in my floor reminding me every time I walk past it that I should have asked for help.
There’s a story in scripture that has left another permanent mark on my heart. In Exodus 17 we find Moses leading the Israelite army in a battle against the Amalekites. God asked Moses to raise up his staff representing God’s power, throughout the battle. As long as Moses kept the staff up, the Israelite army experienced victory, but it was a really long battle, and Moses’ arms grew tired over time. His arms eventually dropped, and as soon as they did, the Israelites began to lose.
That’s where Exodus 17:12 picks up. “When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up – one on one side, one on the other – so that his hands remained steady until sunset.”
The Israelites ended up winning the battle because Moses was obedient to do what God had told him to: He held up his staff…but Moses didn’t do it alone. In fact, Moses would have never been able to obey God completely without the help of his friends, Aaron and Hur.
I don’t know about you, but for me I find it very tempting to try and race through life alone. I tend to run at a breakneck pace, only allowing time for casual friendships and desiring to meet everyone else’s needs around me. I often race so fast that I never stop and allow anyone to see my true weaknesses or vulnerabilities, or if they do, the weaknesses I have on display are not the root problem but rather a result of my own attempt to cover up what’s really going on. The problem I’ve found with that sort of living is that eventually my arms grow tired. Eventually we all find ourselves in a position where we are unable to do all that God has lead us toward, without the help of others holding our arms up. Eventually, whether we like it or not, we need people.
Not too long ago I found myself running on fumes, and because of the life-giving support of some godly friendships around me, my heart was lifted and my arms were held up so that I could be obedient to God’s call on my life. That’s what a good friend does. She ‘lifts up your arms’ by encouraging you and speaking truth to you, knowing that God has more for you. She understands that sometimes you need her as much as she needs you, and in those battle seasons, she’s ready to stand with you, supporting you in your desire to be obedient to His call on your life.
Sweet sister, I know that some days the battles we face seem endless. I know what it feels like to be exhausted, weary, and tired of fighting. That’s why God created friendships. God wants you to find the support you need during the sweet ‘milk and honey seasons’ and the ‘time to fight’ seasons. You desperately need to find friends that will stand beside you and hold up your arms when you need help, as well as people whose arms you hold up when they find themselves battle weary and tired. Life is not only more fun lived in community, but it’s necessary for us to make it through the highs and the lows this life brings.
God has called us to live victorious, but it’s not going to be easy, and we can’t do it alone.
So what are you waiting for? If you haven’t already joined a group at your church, maybe this is the encouragement you need to jump in and find a place where you can be vulnerable and honest about what God is asking of you. Maybe it’s time you were intentional to find friends that would listen, pray, and be ready to hold your arms up when you need them most. Maybe it’s time to find your people that will remind you stay hopeful, and to dig deep to find strength not just by leaning into them, but by pressing into the Lord. Maybe it’s time to be intentional about pressing past surface conversations, and turn your coffee dates and connection points toward the next steps God is calling you toward so that your friends can keep you accountable as you chase all Jesus wants from you. Maybe it’s time to text that friend that is so life-giving to you, and tell her what her encouragement has meant to you.
We all need people. So who are yours?