One of my favorite stories in scripture is in the book of Exodus. In the 17th chapter, the Israelites are fighting against the army of Amalek. Moses is standing at the top of the hill holding the staff of God. As long as Moses held his hands up with the staff in his hand, the Israelites were winning the battle. It was when his hands lowered, they began to lose the battle. It got to the point where Moses could no longer hold up his arms because he was too tired. So, Aaron and Hur found a stone for Moses to sit on and they stood, one on each side and held his arms up, resulting in victory.

Sometimes in the middle of the battle we too get weary and worn. We are exhausted from the fight, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. We may even be in a season where we are not resting because the battle is so heavy. Then God blesses us with brothers and sisters that come along side of us in the midst of our battles. They stand when we can no longer stand on our own. They hold our arms up when we are too weary.

They are the ones that are calling to check in. The ones that randomly send worship songs, scriptures, prayers through text messages, even when we do not respond, the continue to be obedient. They are the ones showing up at 11 pm to pray with us, when we insist it is too late for them to come over. They are the ones that show up.

Being in ministry, I tend to be that person to everyone in need. I don’t question the middle of the night phone calls. I jump out of bed, kiss my family, and drive sometimes hours to be with those in need. I’m there in the waiting room holding up a mom or dad. I’m praying on behalf of the family that has no words, entertaining the kids so the family can make decisions. It is one of the hardest parts of ministry, being in the trenches with people. Yet, it is truly a privilege to be there in the time of need.

Recently, I have come to realize that those of us that hold up the arms of others, sometimes need people to surround us to hold our arms up too…and that is okay. We were not meant to walk this road of life alone. We were created for community. To bear one another’s burdens. It is what we are called to do.

You are not a burden in your time of need. You are human. Do not feel like less of a Christian because you need to surround yourself with people who will stand in faith on your behalf, especially when your faith is shaken.

In Matthew 26:36-46 we see Jesus in what I would classify as the most vulnerable place of His life. He is in the garden of Gethsemane and He is not okay. He does not go there alone though, he has His people there with Him, Peter, James, and John. He declares to them the grief He is facing that is crushing His soul. In his greatest moments of despair, he surrounds himself with His people. He does not walk it alone.

So often when we are in that place where our soul is crushed, we try to do it on our own. We withdraw and isolate ourselves from those we need, those God has placed in our lives. The ones who will pray us through, those who will get us to Jesus no matter the cost.

If Jesus didn’t face His most difficult season alone, why do we think we should? For some reason life makes being vulnerable a very hard and scary thing. Previous hurts and lack of trust from those in the past keeps up wall around us that keep out the very people God blesses us with. Being vulnerable is the only way to build real relationships and truly heal.

Find your people, ask God to surround you with the people you need to walk the difficult seasons with. Do not believe the lie of the enemy that you can do it alone, he wants you isolated so he can take you out. Do not believe the lie that you are burdening people, chances are one day they will need you to show up for them too. Do not be afraid to say you aren’t okay to people who will speak the Word into you, get you to Jesus no matter the cost, and will walk through the trenches with you.

I am so thankful for my people.