What's Next?: The Journey To Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, And Make A DifferenceSample

Relationships: Show Me Your Friends

You’ll struggle in living out your faith if it’s just you and God. It’s easy to think that all you need to grow in your relationship with Him is regular church attendance and personal disciplines like prayer and studying His Word. But He made us in his own image as relational beings, and that design makes relationships with others key to experiencing change in our lives.

Community is an important part of our walk with God, not only because we learn and grow together, but because we also discover God’s grace together. God’s Word tells us that He is faithful to forgive us when we confess our sins to Him, but it also encourages us to confess our sins to one another to receive healing. Only God can forgive our sins, but that forgiveness doesn’t guarantee that we won’t mess up again. Left to our own devices, most of us will fail time after time. But when we confess our sins to each other, we receive spiritual support as we pray for one another and hold each other accountable. This is God’s system for healing. This is the process He designed for us to be able to walk in freedom from sin.

Surrounding ourselves with the right people is one of the most important steps in our spiritual journeys. When we develop relationships, get involved in each other’s trials and triumphs, and basically do life together, we help each other grow and develop more spiritual muscle. Find a Small Group of people in your church community who will pray for you, encourage you, challenge you, and help you live in the freedom Christ came to give you.