An army of one is no army at all - Daily Devotional June 18th, 2010

Daily Bible reading - Deuteronomy 23, Psalm 112-113, Isaiah 50, Revelation 20

An army of one is no army at all

I remember my relationships before I was a Christian; lots of friends, no conflict, and most definitely no depth. When I met Jesus something changed, with Christianity came the challenge to build strong meaningful friendships, but that proved to be strenuous when I realized people seemed to get in misunderstandings often and offenses seemed to be a constant.

I never had problems with my friends before I was a Christian, I mean there was hardly something to get offended about, we all made mistakes often, we all expected mistakes and we all overlooked mistakes; then again we were never really, truly honest and open and our friendships were unto nothing more than fun.

I never really understood why everything was so different, Christian friends came, got offended and left. It all seemed so much harder if I was living a life of righteousness, but in the past few weeks I think I finally got it.

The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!” The enemy is very well aware of what he can do to us if we are alone, he knows the power there is in unity, and he works hard not to allow for that unity in godly friendships.

A Christian friendship is never a meaningless one, there is always a reason you build a tie to someone, there is always a reason God brings you together and let’s your heart be knitted together. The enemy knows that, but we seem to forget it.

I know sometimes you just want to be done with it, life seems so much easier if you have nobody there keeping you accountable, pointing out your blind spots. But walking away from a God-given relationship is giving the enemy tools to destroy you and them. Giving up because it is just easier not to let anybody in is giving the enemy the ability to beat you down and letting him take away the people God put around you to pick you back up. Giving up on a God-relationship is going to battle without an army.

In Isaiah 50:10-11 I was reminded of the benefits of not walking away, not only from friendships but from God altogether. “Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who equip yourselves with burning torches! Walk by the light of your fire, and by the torches that you have kindled! This you have from my hand: you shall lie down in torment.”

Sure we can keep our worldly comfort and make up our own standards for friendships, keep relationships shallow and harmless, try to avoid disappointment and keep it all fun. But we will most definitely find ourselves walking away from our destiny and in the end even eternally tormented by our decision. Pushing through, and pursuing godly relationships might bring some bitter moments and will ensure let downs, frustrations and hurts. But in the process of the pursuing we will grow into the people God wants us to be and we will have the assurance we never have to fight alone, there will always be someone there to pick us up, and we will rejoice together and forget the bitter moments the day we meet the Lord.

Tomorrows Bible Reading - Deuteronomy 24, Psalm 114-115, Isaiah 51, Revelation 21

Much Love, Jo