The struggle I was going through wasn’t a big one. In fact, the thought of sharing it made me feel petty. But it was real, and I was indeed struggling. As I unloaded my heart, my friend’s words were simple and sweet. They were exactly what I needed: “I understand. I’ve struggled in much the same way.” She communicated loud and clear: You are not alone.
It’s through moments like that one that I’ve come to realize how much we need each other. We need people with whom we can be real. We need honest conversations. Personally, I need people to help me sort through my junk, to help me see the lies that I am believing so I can turn to the truth. I’m a huge proponent of appropriate and discreet sharing, ensuring the people in our lives are kept safe through our words. But I’m also acutely aware of my need for a community of truth-seeking women with whom I can be share in appropriate ways.
I need women who will listen (but not judge), understand, speak truth to me and, most importantly, encourage me to seek Jesus in how to live. I want women who will walk alongside me as we seek to be a reflection of God’s grace to each other:
“See to it that no one misses the grace of God” (Hebrews 12:15).
Grace is God’s unmerited favor. Grace isn’t a license to sin; it’s the way out of sin.
Grace is the power of God enabling us to live for the purposes of God.
And guess what your #1 purpose is: To live for the glory of God. Hebrews 12:14 makes our call even more clear:
“Make every effort to live in peace with all men, and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.”
God’s glory is the totality of His holiness. It’s His wholeness. And it’s the holiness of God we seek to display as we live for the glory of God. I don’t believe we can do it alone. We need women who will challenge us to seek the glory of God. We need women who will come alongside us and see that we don’t miss and fail to appropriate the grace of God. We need to follow Way #15 of 52 Ways to Glorify God:
Seek a community of God-seeking, truth-telling people.
In writing this, I realize that many women do not have such a community. I believe God wants that to change. I believe He wants you to ask Him for it! With all my heart, I believe God wants us to become people who become and create safe and authentic places where others can learn and experience how to live by grace.
God wants us to consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. He challenges us to meet together and to be faithful to encourage one another (Hebrews 10:23-25).
We need to, because in the words of another friend: We’re better together.
God put it this way:
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).
If you don’t have such a friend or community of women, I would love for you to message me by going to the contact page. Let me pray for you.
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