You Need Help!

18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” 
(Genesis 2:18)
 
32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” 35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” 37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
(Mark 14:32-38)
Jesus was never too proud to ask for help. He asked a woman at a well to give him water. He asked some fishermen to let him borrow their boat. He asked Zacchaeus to make him dinner. He asked the owners of a donkey to lend it to him. Although he took time out to be alone in prayer before his Father, he spent most of his life with the disciples and with the crowds. He embraced the truth of Genesis 2. It is not good for any of us to be alone.

We are rather less good at embracing this truth in our culture. We see independence as a virtue. Even during lockdown, most of us muddled through and tried not to rely too much on our friends. But that flies in the face of how God has created us. He didn’t save us so that we could become self-sufficient Christians, happy that it’s Jesus-And-Me. He saved us into his Body and he encourages to live as interdependent members of our church family.

During times of crisis, this is even more important than ever. It is easy for us to take social distancing to mean withdrawing from one another, but God encourages us to get creative about how we can connect with one another even more during this season. On the night of his betrayal, Jesus insisted that Peter, James and John be with him to help him manage his distressed and troubled heart. If even Jesus needed close friends in a crisis, then so do we!

Peter, James and John let Jesus down. They fell asleep instead of helping him! But Jesus didn’t let disappointment sour his friendship with them. He saw the vulnerability of friendship as definitely worth the risk. Jesus wants to teach us to walk through this coronavirus as a team. He wants to help you stay connected to your church family.
1)   Jesus shared his life with the twelve disciples. If you are not in a Life Group, might this be a vital time for you to join one? If you are in a Life Group, how can you journey through this crisis more and more as a united team?

2)   What disappointments are you carrying from past relationships? How do they stop you from forming deep, fulfilling relationships with new people today?

3)   Who are your Peter, James and John – your three closest Christian friends, to whom you can turn during this time of crisis? How can you go the extra mile to connect with them really well this week?
Father God, I thank you for the people you have put around me. I confess that I really need them. You don’t just gift us with your Spirit, you also gift us with your Body, so help me to keep connected to my church friends, even in this period of social distancing. Help me to form deep friendships and to find creative ways to keep enjoying them. Amen.
If you have time, consider carrying on your conversation with God using one of our helpful Prayer Pathways.
Today’s Everyday Devotions have also inspired a devotional video that you can watch on our YouTube channel.