Link Arms and Train Together - February 7

Read Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

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.

Reflect

Have you experienced the benefits of having a mentor or an accountability partner? If not, how might linking arms with someone help you as you grow and mature in your faith?

I’ve never been much of a runner. In high school, I associated running with pain, so I avoided it whenever I could. I liked to be active, but I much preferred other forms of physical exercise than pounding the pavement.

However, in college, I started working at a local sporting goods store. My coworkers became my good friends and many of them were runners. They were always training for a race and I caught their excitement. I started to wonder if I could ever do it. Could I run a 5k? Or a 10k? Or a half-marathon? I wanted to try but I was sure of one thing—I’d never be able to do it alone.

So, I linked arms with one of my running buddies. We started getting together after work to go for a run.

Eventually, I did run a few 5k races. I even ran a couple of 10k races. In 2012, I trained for a half-marathon and finished! But I always knew that the only reason I was able to make so much progress training was because I had an accountability partner. When I tried to go for a run by myself, it was too easy for me to talk myself out of it and skip. I was too tired. I was too busy. It was too cold. It was too hot. My list of excuses could go on and on. But on days when my training partner and I ran together, I had an appointment to keep and I wouldn’t let them down.

You know, God did not create us to do life alone. In the Garden of Eden, God said it wasn’t good for the man to be alone and created a helper, Eve, for him (Genesis 2:15). It was always God’s intention that we would live our lives in community with other people.

In today’s passage, the Preacher (most likely King Solomon) shared the wisdom that in life, two are often better than one. When we work together and cooperate, we can accomplish so much more. We can pick each other up when we stumble and fall. We can help each other provide for our basic needs. We can look out for one another and protect each other.

But this isn’t just true for our physical lives. It isn’t good for man to be alone spiritually either. When we placed our faith in Christ, we became a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). The problem is, we still do daily battle with our old selves, our flesh. The apostle Paul wrote about this struggle in Romans 7:15-8:11. Every day, we have to set our minds on the things of the Spirit (Romans 8:5) or else we’ll feel the pull of sin sucking us back into our old ways.

Brand-new believers are especially vulnerable to this. But giving into the temptation to sin can happen to mature believers too. Satan loves to take advantage of Christians who are weak, tired, distracted, and discouraged. Christians who have pulled away from the safety of the body of Christ are like lone sheep. They are easy prey for the wolves. But there is safety in numbers.

This Christian life is not a cake walk. It is a battlefield. We need our fellow Christian soldiers to fight alongside us. If you are someone who is a newer Christian, I urge you to find someone who has been a believer longer than you to disciple you. Ask them to mentor you in your new faith. And if you are struggling with a certain sin, no matter how long you’ve been a Christian, don’t struggle alone. Ask a trusted brother or sister in Christ to be an accountability partner for you.

It is not good for us to do life alone. “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17). No matter what you’re facing or what your goals are for spiritual growth, we need each other. So, find your brothers and sisters in Christ, link arms, and train together.

Respond

Lord, thank You for the gift of community. Thank You for providing a family of believers that I can link arms with and train with. I want to sharpen my brothers and sisters in Christ and be sharpened by them. I don’t want to go it alone. Amen.

Reveal

Prayerfully consider who you could ask to mentor you or who you could offer to mentor. Seek community with other believers through Bible studies or church classes. Tell another believer that you want to link arms and train together.