“Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? 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 4:9-12 NLT
We have all seen the image of two soldiers standing in a trench, back to back, fighting to protect one another from the advancement of the enemy. They have complete confidence in one another and know that the other person is willing to lay down their life for them. Their concentrated effort to protect each other gives them a better opportunity to be successful in their battle against enemy forces. These soldiers also know they have a battalion backing them up if they need them. All they have to do is call in reinforcements to come to their aide if they find themselves in trouble.
These reinforcements don’t question why they are calling. They don’t berate them or judge them for the trouble they find themselves in. No! They immediately head out to give support to the soldiers. After the soldiers return to the barracks they may have a debriefing session, but it is a time to regroup and plan for the next battle. It is not a time to call each other names or point fingers, and it is not a time where they criticize one another for getting into trouble in the first place. It is a time to make an action plan in hopes that they can avoid a similar situation in the next battle.
Before you read on I want you to go back and read the first part of the devotion again and as you read; ask yourself if this image comes to mind when you think of the body of Christ (the Army of God). In John 15:12-13 Jesus said, “This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Every day I meet people who have walked away from Christianity because they didn’t feel loved, protected, cared for, or understood by other Christians. I hear story after story of people who fell for one reason or another and who were left alone to suffer in silence. They were not helped up; they were kicked further down by their church body or other religious people. They were made to feel “less than” as a person and shunned.
Some have reported that when they asked for help they were judged or criticized instead of being prayed for and restored to the body. They say they didn’t feel protected like a soldier in an army should feel. It grieves me when I hear them say religious people stood silently by in judgment, instead of believing in the miraculous power of Jesus Christ; who is able to restore every person who becomes crippled for one reason or another. They say the people believe more in the traditions of man than the miraculous power of God to heal and restore!
Jesus was no stranger to this kind of treatment. Mark 3:4-5 says, “Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.” We have to remember that Jesus is able to do exceedingly abundantly more than we could ever think or imagine. (Ephesians 3:14-21)
It is vitally important for us to continually remind ourselves that Jesus Christ died on the Cross and was resurrected to make all things new! He set into motion a New Covenant of love, healing, restoration, reconciliation, hope, faith, unity, compassion, and wholeness! As warriors in the Army of God we have a responsibility to walk in love with one another. Two people in love walk side by side in times of peace and stand back to back in times of trouble. These images convey complete trust and confidence just like the image of the soldiers does! Read Ecclesiastes 4:10 again. “If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.” And Ecclesiastes 4:12a, “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. “
If Christ in us is the hope of glory, then Christ in us needs to convey the hope of glory to our fellow soldiers in Christ who find themselves in trouble. We need to reach out and help them when they fall. We need to set aside our mindsets of judgment and condemnation. We need to adjust our helmet of Salvation to protect us from the fiery darts of the enemy; who tries to get us to destroy the soldiers in our own army with judgment and condemnation. An army divided against its self cannot stand! I want to encourage you to spend time meditating on these verses. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom and revelation, so you become an empowered soldier who is willing to lay down your life for the fellow soldiers in the Army of God. Also begin to pray for those who have walked away from Christianity because of wounds they received from friendly fire. As the last days approach the body of Christ needs all soldiers to be ready and prepared for the front lines of battle.
Prayer: Spend time in prayer asking God to open the eyes of your understanding of what His desire is for His body. Ask Him to reveal areas of your life where you need more understanding of who you are in Christ and what Christ desires for His last days Church. Spend time praying for those who have fallen and were left alone to suffer in silence.
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