Day 4: Plug in to the power connections!
1 Corinthians 12: 12 The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. 13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.
Our phones were never designed to operate completely on their own. They need a connection to a power source. They also need a connection to other devices, networks, and systems to do what they were designed to do. A phone that is never connected may still look good, it may have some useful operations, but eventually the battery dies and its usefulness is greatly limited.
The same is true of us spiritually. God did not create us to live disconnected from Him or disconnected from His people. We need both. We need to be plugged into the Lord, and we need to be plugged into the right community.
Isaiah says this:
Isaiah 40: 30 Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles.They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
There is something that happens when we learn to depend on God instead of depending completely on ourselves. We get tired. We get discouraged. We face things we cannot fix. We carry burdens that become too heavy. We reach moments when our own strength is not enough. But God never runs out of strength. When we plug into Him, we are connecting ourselves to a source that never runs dry.
But there is another connection God has given us that we sometimes overlook. Community.
God designed His Church to be a place where we encourage one another, pray for one another, carry one another's burdens, challenge one another, and help one another grow. Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together.” That is why New Covenant Church matters. That is why our community groups matter. We were never meant to follow Jesus by ourselves.
You can have a phone with an incredible battery, but if it is never connected to a network, it cannot fully function as it was designed. In the same way, you can have a personal relationship with Jesus and still miss part of what God wants to do in your life if you continually isolate yourself from His people.
There is something powerful about sitting in a room with other believers who are seeking God. There is something powerful about a community group where people know your name, know your story, pray for you, encourage you, and sometimes love you enough to tell you what you need to hear. There is something powerful about worshiping together, serving together, praying together, and walking through difficult seasons together.
The enemy would love for us to become isolated. Isolation makes us easier to discourage. Isolation makes our problems seem bigger. Isolation can cause us to believe that nobody understands and that we have to handle everything ourselves.
But God says, you are part of a body. You need the Lord, and you need His people. Paul even went on to name the different parts of the body to highlight that each of us have a calling inside of the body!
That is why during these 21 days we are not simply trying to become more disciplined individuals. We are reconnecting with God and reconnecting with the people He has placed around us. Maybe for you that means getting back into worship every Sunday. Maybe it means joining a community group. Maybe it means reconnecting with a brother or sister in Christ. Maybe it means allowing someone to know what you are really walking through instead of simply saying, “I'm doing fine.”
You were not created to run on your own power. Plug into the Lord. Plug into His Word. Plug into prayer. Plug into His Church. Plug into the redemptive community. The right connections don't drain your spiritual battery. They help you stay charged.
Today’s Prayer
Father, thank You for being my source of strength. I know that I cannot live this life in my own power, and I do not want to try. Help me stay connected to You through prayer, Your Word, worship, and obedience. Thank You for giving me a church family and people who can walk with me, encourage me, challenge me, and pray for me. Help me to stop isolating myself and start investing in the community You have given me. Show me where I need to reconnect, where I need to be more involved, and where I can become an encouragement to someone else. I want to be plugged into You and plugged into the people You have placed in my life. Give me the strength to live the way You created me to live.
In Jesus' name, Amen.