Community is God’s Answer to Defeat

In review of Ecclesiastes 4:12 it says, “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple braided cord is not easily broken.”

Bottom Line:

Stand alone and you are more vulnerable. When someone is with you it’s easier to resist an attack. Add a third and it’s even harder to be broken.

What this means to me:

When I stand alone, I’m subject to attack and defeat. When I’m in fellowship with others, they can help me resist and fight what comes up against me.

The question of the day is, who’s watching out for me?

I need people who will defend me, stand up for me and protect me, help me stay on track, and warn me. We all need this, because we all have blind spots.

Philippians 2:4 says, “Look out for one another’s interest, not just your own” (TEV). This is very much a counter-cultural verse. In America, the general idea is it’s all about “me”, my needs, my interests, my wants, and my ambitions.

But the Bible says we should care about each other. We’re family! As brothers and sisters in God’s family, we should defend each other and help each other stay on track.

I have a personal enemy, and he really hates me. His name is Satan. He wants to mess up my life or at least get me off-track. He wants to ruin my relationships. He ultimately wants to defeat me.

He does this because he can’t hurt God. When you can’t hurt somebody, what do you do? You go after their children. Satan can’t hurt God, so he tries to hurt God’s children.

When Satan attacks me, he doesn’t come in a little red costume with a pitchfork and say, “Boo!” Satan messes up my life through habits I can’t break, through hurts that I won’t let go of, through problems and circumstances, through relationships that break my heart.

Most Christians are defeated, mainly because they try to fight Satan on their own. In reality I’m never going to win against the devil on my own. I need other people who will watch out for me and help me.

Community is God’s answer to defeat. I need to find the people who will stand with me in tough times and say, “We’re not going to let you get discouraged. We’re not going to let you get depressed. We’re not going to let you worry. We’re going to stay here with you.”

“A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple braided cord is not easily broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12 NLT, second edition).

Today is a great reminder of what I have found to be true in my life before. I need other people who will stand beside me and help me stay on track. I too need to be with others to help defend them and help them stay on track. It is very difficult to try to fight Satan on my own. Now that I have moved into a new community and feel like my wife and I may have settled on a church community to become part of, I will concentrate on developing relationships in which I can partner with others on this effort.