Doing Life in Relationship with Others

Our Relationships matter. We were created to do life in relationship with other people. That’s not easy. Especially when people are being difficult or there are the kind of people in life that we need to be cautious of, people like Nabal, who we learned about over the last few days. Add to this, our own hurts and pains that make us want to withdraw from other people.

Withdrawing is exactly what we shouldn’t do. In the devotional Creating Lasting and Loving Relationships by Rick Warren, he makes the statement “You were never meant to walk through life alone.” He goes on to say that he is not talking about marriage or the other more common associations of life.  What he is talking about is walking in fellowship with other people who love Jesus and are trying to live life well.

Walking Alone is Dangerous

One of the consequences of our increasingly fragmented society is that it hard to find the time and energy for good, deep fellowship with other Christians. There is also the issue of dealing with each other’s weaknesses and failures. So we tend to walk alone, or at least we fall into that trap from time to time.

Here’s the thing about that though. We were intended to do life with others. To being with, that is family. Your family is a gift from God and your primary time and attention in life should go to them.

The second circle of relationships to pay attention to is friends who can help you live life well and follow Jesus. Of course, they are other friends in life also but having some friends who help you focus in on following Jesus are indispensable.

The third circle is work-life relationships. These are the people you see every day or often because of shared activities and responsibilities. These relationships also need some level of attention.

And I suppose we could add other relational circles and areas of life that need to be attended to.

Getting the Foundation Right

The foundation of all of our relationships has to be a relationship with Jesus who calls us into a relationship with him and then leads us as we live life.

Here are the important things for us to remember about relationships.

You are stronger and safer when you are in the right kind of relationships. Not only is their strength in numbers, but you have much greater support when you have a few people at your side.

Make Sure the Right People Are By Your Side

You’ve got to have other people by your side, but you also need to have the right people by your side if you are going to become the person God made you to be.

When Israel was in a battle with the Amalekites Moses stood over the battlefield with his arms raised over the fight. As long as his arms were raised high Israel prevailed. Whenever he tired, Israel began to fall back. So Aaron and Ur held up Moses arms so the nation of Israel could press on in battle toward victory.

Exodus 17:8–13 ⁸ The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. ⁹ Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”

¹⁰ So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. ¹¹ As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. ¹² When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. ¹³ So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

Whose Holding Your Arms Up?

You need more than one person in life to help you pursue God and life a good life. God has placed all kinds of people around you who can help you in this area.

Here are some examples:

• A church family where you can be exposed to the Word of God and worship.
• 2-3 close friends who will remind you to pursue God’s best for you.
• Your family. Even if they are not in the place that you are spiritually, your family setting is where you learn to be like Jesus as you encourage, pray, and serve.

What relationships in your life need more time and energy? What relationships need to be revitalized? How can you rebalance your relationships, so they get the right amount of you?

How is your foundational relationship going—your walk with God?

Prayer Prompt

Lord, show me how to do life with other people from all of the circles of my life. Help me to follow you in each area: family, friends, other close relationships, and out from there.