“The LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone'” (Genesis 2:18).

I had been in graduate school for about nine months.

I couldn’t quite put my finger on it but I just felt off. There was nothing physically wrong with me. I was healthy and working out five days a week.

But I just felt off kilter. It was strange. I found myself walking around the shopping mall regularly.

I hate malls! I hate shopping! What was I doing at a shopping mall?

And then it finally dawned on me. Ever since I left home for graduate school I had not had any meaningful physical touch for nine months. No hugs. No hand on the shoulder. Nothing.

I lived in an apartment off campus with my cat Toots. I’d go to class, then to the library to study, then back to the apartment with Toots. Toots was a fantastic cat. She was awesome. But she was a cat.

My body was literally aching for human touch. My soul was thirsting for meaningful human interaction.

Have you ever felt that way?

Perhaps, you’re going through a season like that right now.

God created us to be relational creatures. We weren’t meant to live in isolation from each other. We were made to be together.

If you are going through a time like this, know you are not alone. There’s space at our Sunday worship services. We have gone out of our way to make it as safe as possible for you to worship in person. Get around people in a safe setting where we can practice social distancing while being together. We all need that.

If you are doing okay, know that there are people in our congregation who haven’t had much human interaction due to covid, death of a spouse, life changes, on-line worship, etc.

Little Church and Lakewoodgrace, I want to encourage you to take a look around at your neighborhood and church. There are people you know who are struggling. There are people who are in need of a little TLC during this Advent season. I encourage you to reach out to at least one person a day. Remind them that they are not alone. God is with them. And, perhaps God wants to be present in the lives of others by showing up through you.

Thank you for being the church.

“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21).

“Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin” (1 Peter 4:1).

“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world” – C. S. Lewis.

Suffering.

No one likes suffering. In fact, most of us have a natural aversion to it. Most of us would absolutely love it if becoming a follower of Jesus Christ was a guarantee of easy living.

But there’s no evidence of such easy living found in the scriptures. Instead the scripture writers tell us that part of what it means to be a disciple and a follower of Jesus Christ is that suffering is a regular part of faithful discipleship. There’s something about suffering that shapes, forms, and matures a disciple. You could even say that it is impossible to mature as a disciple without having an element of suffering.

This doesn’t mean all of discipleship is suffering. If that were the case who would ever want to be a disciple? There are great moments of happiness and joy.

The reason why suffering is an integral part of discipleship is because God is more interested in our spiritual maturity and growth than he is about our spiritual comfort.

Charles Spurgeon says, “Men will never become great in theology until they become great in suffering.”

God loves you so much he cannot leave us the way we are today. He wants us to grow. He wants us to mature. He wants us to become more effective for the kingdom. He wants us to be agents of even greater blessing to others.

“Now, every time I witness a strong person, I want to know: what dark did you conquer in your story? Mountains do not rise without earthquakes” – Katherine MacKenett.

Friends, this has been a hard year. Isn’t that good news? God’s been training and equipping you to grow and mature in your faith!

“Pray always” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

When we pray, the God of the heavens and the earth stops all things and becomes laser focused on you and your prayers. The moment you utter, “Father…”, God, in all his being, is fully present to hear your prayers.

What an amazing reality!

We are told in James 1:17 that, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.”

When Jesus was instructing his disciples about prayer, Jesus says, “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:11-13).

The key phrase is “How much more.”

It is worth noting that Jesus couples prayers with the gift of the Holy Spirit. God wants us to pray prayers that honor him and further the kingdom.

Or put in another way, if God said “yes” to all every prayer you prayed in the last seven days, how would the world be different?

Would the world look more like God’s kingdom here on earth?

Pray always. Pray without ceasing. Pray God-honoring prayers.