My name is Rachel and I was a part of Students Standing Strong (S3) in middle school. When you are already a part of a Christian group, you don’t quite realize just how important and how influential it is. Having strong friends who are devoted to their faith in your community is one of the best things you can do for your own faith.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says, “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! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him–a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” We can apply this message to communities of Christians, and how much stronger we are together. We should rely on each other and help each other grow closer to God so that we will not be quickly broken. God has provided us all with peers who are believers and places to grow in our faith, such as S3. He wants us to have companionship of others so that if we fall, we have multiple hands to catch us.
I understand that it is extremely difficult to find that sense of community right now, but God never stops working in people’s lives. I encourage you to make the extra effort of forming and nurturing your circle of friends who love the Lord, and if you don’t have any, it is crucial for you to reach out and find them. There are amazing people just waiting to help grow your faith, and for you to grow theirs. I pray that you will lift one another up in the name of the Lord, growing closer to Him as one.
God Bless, Rachel
Rachel, Thank you so much for this great reminder how important it is to stay connected with other Christians. Isolation leaves us vulnerable. God know that. That’s why He made us, in HIs image, to connect to others and to connect to Him.