Don’t Go It Alone
“By yourself you’re unprotected. With a friend you can face
the worst. Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn’t easily
snapped.” Ecclesiastes
4:12
Paul McCartney
crooned in the Beatles’ hit, “Eleanor Rigby”, “Ah, look at all the lonely
people.” Strange as it may seem,
we’ve all discovered that we can be surrounded
by throngs of people and still feel like we are all alone. It’s one of the great ironies of life and one
of the great traps of the enemy in veering us off course.
A second Paul, Paul Tillich, wrote years ago, “Our
language has wisely sensed the two sides of being alone. It has created the word ‘loneliness’ to
express the pain of being alone and it has created the word ‘solitude’ to
express the glory of being alone.” Sometimes we need “solitude” to get
away from the busyness of life and other times, we are feeling lonely and God
gives us others to encourage us.
Amazingly, God has given us a template of connection through
nature. Consider these:
1) The
Redwood: If you’ve been to Northern California, you’ve come across the mighty
redwoods. Redwood trees have very
shallow roots yet they can withstand the wind by spreading out and intertwining
their root system as they hold each other up.
2) The
Snowflake: Though very frail, if enough of them
stick together they can stop traffic and create tremendous power.
3) The
Geese: Geese are able to travel
tremendous lengths as they shift into their “V” formation honking along with
encouragement as they go.
We all need to receive encouragement and give it, too.
One spring morning, a
farmer was out plowing his field. In one
particular wet place, his tractor bogged down.
Try as he did, he could not get out.
Finally, he walked to his neighbor’s house to ask for help. The neighbor came and surveyed the situation.
He said, “It doesn’t look good, however I’ll give it a try. But if we don’t get it out, I’ll come sit in
the mud with you.”
Sometimes when we are bogged down in some difficult place,
it is impossible to get free right away.
But, it makes a world of difference if some caring person is willing to
sit in the mud with you.
The third Paul, (not
McCartney or Tillich) but the Apostle was not exempt from needing help
(or helping for that matter). He wrote
to Timothy at the end of his life, “But God bless Onesiphorus and his family! Many is the time
I’ve been refreshed in that house. And he wasn’t embarrassed a bit that I was
in jail.” (2 Timothy 1:16) While Paul knew the power of
solitude, he also knew the challenge of aloneness. Yet God provided someone to
help him. Look for someone to refresh
today. After all, a little mud is good
for your complexion and your heart.
Terry
Risser
Reflections:
1) Recall a time where you felt
alone and someone refreshed you
2)
Think of someone today that you can help encourage
Consider reading the word today:
Copyright
2014- Terry Risser
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