We can't do life on our own

This is a synopsis of a sermon that I preached on August 1st, 2010 at Port Hardy Baptist Church.

Last week was an incredibly tough and difficult week. It was definitely one of the toughest weeks I have ever had to face. Over the week, one very important was reinforced to me:

WE CAN’T DO LIFE ON OUR OWN.

We are not meant to and nor should we try to. There have been two ways this truth has been evident in my life this past week and I want to share them with you:

1. We need to be relying on God’s strength.

When I have felt like giving up or crawling under a rock this past week, this important truth kept coming to mind. I know that I could not have made it through this past week without God’s strength and I know that I can’t make it through the weeks to come without God’s strength.

There were a few passages of Scripture that I relied on this past week. One was Psalm 121, specifically verses 1 and 2, which says:

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Our help comes from God. We need to find our strength in Him.

Another passage was 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 which says:

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

This passage became a source of strength for me after my dad died when I was 11. It didn’t really have any meaning to me until many years later but I have seen how God has comforted me and has used me to comfort others.

A final passage is Isaiah 40:28-31 which says:

28 Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The LORD is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can fathom.

29 He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in the LORD

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

God brought this passage to mind this morning. This is God’s promise to us. It is only as we rely on Him that we begin the healing process. We need to seek His comfort and His strength.

2. We need one another.

1 Corinthians 12:12-26 has taken on a whole new meaning to me this past week. These verses say:

12The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

14Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

21The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and the parts that we think are less honourable we treat with special honour. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honour to the parts that lacked it, 25so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.

Back in the Fall I was asked to speak at North Island College to the students in the Care Aid program. The class was on how the care giver needs to be taking care of themselves physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I was asked to speak on how we can take care of ourselves spiritually.

Here is an excerpt of what I shared:

Community is something I am very passionate about. I believe that God created us to be in community! God never intended for us to go through life alone. In fact, after creating Adam, God said it was not good for man to be alone so He created Eve to be Adam’s partner in life. God has wired us for relationships. Sadly, many people will go through life without any community and this is very tragic. I can’t imagine going through life without community.

Then I shared some benefits of being part of a spiritual family:

Attending a church does not automatically mean that you are part of a community. It takes a commitment on our part to not just attend but to belong to a group of people. For me, that is my church. My church is the family that I belong too. They help me to stay spiritually healthy in many ways. Hare are a few:

Support and encouragement: I need people who will defend me, who will protect me, who will stand up for me when I need somebody to stand up for me, who will help me stay on track and who will warn me. I need people to watch out for me. I have a built in support network in community. When life’s “hiccups” come (and they do) I have people who are there for me. Community helps me from giving up. Community helps me to keep running the race and fighting the good fight.

I learn to love others better: I can only do this in community. Sometimes this is messy but this is part of learning to love others. Community forces me to not only look to my own interests but also to the interest of others. Community forces me to deal with conflict and tension. It teaches me to learn forgiveness – both giving it and receiving it. Community creates an environment where I can learn to love other’s well.

I am so thankful for my church family and the larger church community. We need each other! I have been overwhelmed by the support that we have received from other Christians and churches. I have received numerous e-mails and phone calls and they have been such a blessing to me.

I know that we have a long journey ahead of us. Some days are going to be tougher than others. All we can do is take one step at a time as we rely on God and each other. I believe that some of those steps have already started.

REMEMBER: WE CAN’T DO LIFE ON OUR OWN!

***** A book I recommend: When God Doesn’t Make Sense

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