Live in Community – No More Isolation #1
Last night, while leading a therapy for women group, I had the privilege to observe how important it is for us to live in community with others. Unfortunately, the way our society is right now, we tend to try to be loners. We move far away from family, we have short-term friends based on mutual life activities, we bounce from job to job, But this isn’t what was intended for us at all.
God created us to live in community rather than to be isolated. This is abundantly clear in numerous places in Scripture. But why?
Our unique life experiences comfort one another
2 Corinthians 1:4 demonstrates this truth, “He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”
This is what I witnessed in vivid detail during my group. One woman was far along in dealing with a hurt from her past. When another lady mentioned a similar hurt, the first was able to speak from her experience and share how God had moved her through that and into a place of healing. The wisdom she shared was from real life and had great power with the recipient because she knew the woman had already walked out the experience.
We need encouragement as we live in community
1 Thessalonians 5:11 tells us “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up.”
This world is hard. We need people who will be there for us when we struggle. All of us need our own private cheering section. Without this level of support, it’s real easy to become overwhelmed when life’s challenges come our way and to slip into a “woe is me” attitude, or even worse – depression.
Be sure to check back soon for 2 more important reasons to live in community.