Damage Control: Avoiding Distance From God in Hard SeasonsChikamu

Seek Godly Community

Have you ever caught yourself imitating something you picked up from a friend or family member? When we pick up positive habits from others like working out, reading, or being more tidy around the house, we celebrate their influence on us. But when we find ourselves picking up negative traits like constant complaining or excessive drinking to numb our pain, we may need to take inventory of our community.

Several times during this hard season we turned to friends who had good intentions, but didn’t help us make strides toward reconciliation. We engaged in mindless activities like going out and gossiping which only helped us temporarily bandage our deep wounds. Looking back, we sought relationships that would validate our frustrations and refrain from challenging us to dig deeper to understand why our friendship was suffering.

It’s natural to seek community in hard times because companionship often provides comfort and gives us a soft place to land. But if your community doesn’t regularly point you back to God, they can’t possibly help you strengthen your faith while you wait. Many of us do a fine job on our own seeking distractions, rehearsing unhelpful narratives, or exploring worst-case scenarios. We need godly community to not only help pull us out of our spirals, but to offer encouragement and wisdom when we struggle to find it on our own.

There are several ways that godly relationships benefit us while we wait, but some of the ways we’ve seen them support us is by:

• Letting us vent and then gently nudging us back to God
• Cheering us up with wholesome jokes and fun
• Challenging us to examine situations from alternative perspectives
• Providing fresh wind to our hope through prayer

Who we allow to influence us in our hardest seasons has a significant impact on how we navigate them. God desires for us to have community, but more than that He wants that community to point us back to Him.

Reflection: Take some time to audit your closest relationships. Which relationships do you need to elevate or reprioritize in this season? How can doing this impact your wait?