Proverbs 17:17 KJV [17] A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Proverbs 27:17 MSG [17] You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 MSG [9-10] It’s better to have a partner than go it alone. Share the work, share the wealth. And if one falls down, the other helps, But if there’s no one to help, tough! [11] Two in a bed warm each other. Alone, you shiver all night. [12] By yourself you’re unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped.”
I wanted to present a few examples of healthy relationships that were instrumental in propelling a person or group of people into their purpose. These relationships show that it is difficult to move through life to fulfill your God given design without the help of others helping you forward. When we function in symbiotic relationships with others we mutually benefit and we are able to grow. We are interdependent of one another. Your growth also helps the growth of another.
Job and his friends: Job went through major disasters which cost him his fortune, family, and health. Unbeknownst to him, God was allowing him to go through a series of test and in the end he would gain back everything he had lost plus more. His friends came to support him in his time of distress and they gave him advice. At times the advice wasn’t the best but God was using them also to position Job for greater.
Job 2:11-13 MSG [11-13] Three of Job’s friends heard of all the trouble that had fallen on him. Each traveled from his own country-Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuhah, Zophar from Naamath-and went together to Job to keep him company and comfort him. When they first caught sight of him, they couldn’t believe what they saw-they hardly recognized him! They cried out in lament, ripped their robes, and dumped dirt on their heads as a sign of their grief. Then they sat with him on the ground. Seven days and nights they sat there without saying a word. They could see how rotten he felt, how deeply he was suffering.
Ruth and Naomi, her mother-in-law: Ruth chose to follow her mother in law, Naomi, to a her native land and live among her people after Naomi’s husband and two sons, one of whom was married to Ruth, died. Ruth gathered food and took care of Naomi. Naomi coached Ruth on how to get Boaz’s attention, he was a close relative of Naomi’s deceased husband. After a time Ruth married Boaz and gave birth to a son named Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse, who had David. The lineage of Jesus.
Ruth 1:16
-17 MSG [16-17] But Ruth said, “Don’t force me to leave you; don’t make me go home. Where you go, I go; and where you live, I’ll live. Your people are my people, your God is my god; where you die, I’ll die, and that’s where I’ll be buried, so help me GOD-not even death itself is going to come between us!”
Ruth 2:11-12 MSG [11-12] Boaz answered her, “I’ve heard all about you-heard about the way you treated your mother-in-law after the death of her husband, and how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth and have come to live among a bunch of total strangers. GOD reward you well for what you’ve done-and with a generous bonus besides from GOD, to whom you’ve come seeking protection under his wings.”
Ruth 3:1-2 MSG [1-2] On
e day her mother-in-law Naomi said to Ruth, “My dear daughter, isn’t it about time I arranged a good home for you so you can have a happy life? And isn’t Boaz our close relative, the one with whose young women you’ve been working? Maybe it’s time to make our move. Tonight is the night of Boaz’s barley harvest at the threshing floor.
Ruth 4:13,18-22 MSG [13] Boaz married Ruth. She became his wife. Boaz slept with her. By GOD’s gracious gift she conceived and had a son. [18-22] This is the family tree of Perez: Perez had Hezron, Hezron had Ram, Ram had Amminadab, Amminadab had Nahshon, Nahshon had Salmon, Salmon had Boaz, Boaz had Obed, Obed had Jesse, and Jesse had David.
Esther and Mordecai: Mordecai protected and encouraged Esther to use wisdom and to keep her trust in God during very trying times for her people. She could have been killed if people new she was a Jew, but Mordecai helped her to stay the course and save them.
Esther 4:12-14 MSG
[12-14] When Hathach told Mordecai what Esther had said, Mordecai sent her this message: “Don’t think that just because you live in the king’s house you’re the one Jew who will get out of this alive. If you persist in staying silent at a time like this, help and deliverance will arrive for the Jews from someplace else; but you and your family will be wiped out. Who knows? Maybe you were made queen for just such a time as this.”
Joshua and Caleb: Both Joshua and Caleb were able to take the Promised Land because they whole heartedly followed God and had the same vision going forward.
Numbers 14:6-9,24 MSG [6-9] Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, members of the scouting party, ripped their clothes and addressed the assembled People of Israel: “The land we walked through and scouted out is a very
good land-very good indeed. If GOD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land that flows, as they say, with milk and honey. And he’ll give it to us. Just don’t rebel against GOD! And don’t be afraid of those people. Why, we’ll have them for lunch! They have no protection and GOD is on our side. Don’t be afraid of them!”
Fast forward: [24] “But my servant Caleb-this is a different story. He has a different spirit; he follows me passionately. I’ll bring him into the land that he scouted and his children will inherit it.
Solomon and those who helped him in completing the temple: God tasked Solomon, King David’s son to build the temple. In order to carry out the construction Solomon needed friends and allies. One of the allies God sent was named King Hiram (1Kings 5). King Hiram loved Solomon’s father and wanted to support Solomon’s endeavors. Hiram supplied lumber and workers. Another man named Hiram
was an artist and did all the bronze work in the temple.
I’m sharing this to express how important it is to not do life alone. We need friends and allies to get us to the next step in our journey. As children of God we become allies with those we do life with and to those we pray with. We are helping them to build the temple of their lives and applying kingdom building principles.
Galatians 6:9-10 KJV And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. [10] As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men , especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
God has given each of us a task and He will provide everyone and everything needed to build us uniquely individually and the body of Christ.