“It has been so much easier doing this with a group of people than it was when I did this by myself”
This was a comment that I made this weekend during the 30 hour famine fundraiser on behalf of my journey with God on the World Race. My friend, and youth director, at our sister church gathered his youth together and gave me a glimpse of what my life in community is going to look like over this next year.
God had told me to do a fast a few years ago, but that was a time in my life when I never (and didn’t) would have considered following through with an action like that. It wasn’t until this past spring that I listened when He reminded me of that command and urged me to finally follow through in obedience.
I remember how quickly the hunger and the headache hit me as a sat alone while trying to distract myself. My time with God was mostly spent pleading for physical relief of my pain and discomfort. The focus was counting down the hours until I could eat again.
I didn’t have to go through it alone this past weekend. I was with a group of people who shared in my hunger and discomfort. We worshiped our God together and learned what it means to walk by faith and truly follow Jesus. We put aside our own needs and served those in greater need. And we had the privilege of sharing in the joy at the end of our suffering.
My squad and I will see suffering in many different ways next year. We will experience it in ways we never imagined as we venture through areas of poverty, destruction and hopelessness. We will share in the suffering of our brothers and sisters, but there is something beautiful about suffering in community.
You’re not alone.
“The church is meant to be a refuge for those suffering. When a member is hurting, the church applies the bandages; when a member is down, the church encourages; when a member is in need, the church comes alongside to help.”
The church isn’t limited to a building. WE are the church. So as the church, WE are meant to come alongside those who suffer.
The suffering is still there, but there are people around to lighten the burden. We are the church of Christ, and as the church we are called to come together as one body to “bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). We are called to lift each other up and encourage one another; to humbly cover each other’s weaknesses with our strengths; to remind each other of the hope only found in Jesus; and to keep each other’s focus steady on the cross.
I can’t imagine what hardships I will face next year, but I am thankful that I get to battle them with my team and be the church for those whose burdens have made them weak and weary.
“How good and pleasant is it when God’s people live together in unity!” –Psalm 133:1
This past weekend, my fellow fasters and I had the privilege of sharing in the joy of dining together to mark the end of our suffering. What a greater privilege it will be to share the joy when we get to end our suffering here on Earth and live eternally with our Father in heaven.
