moves of God – warning sign #4 – isolation

It’s so easy to live lives of isolation and disconnection. 1 Peter 5:8 says that the enemy is constantly prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. In the animal kingdom, lions, hyenas and other predators will wait and select a victim to attack, by noting which animal in the herd is beginning to stray away from the group. We need to guard against isolation because that makes us more vulnerable to being drawn away by false teaching.

We need to be closely connected with others in the body of Christ who seek God, study the Bible, and walk through life together. It’s been said that the Christian walk would be so much easier if it weren’t for the people – just me and God, yeah! The reality is that good relationships are both valuable and costly – it takes a lot of effort and time to build healthy relationships. Each of us, regardless of age or stage in life, needs close relationships with other believers, to encourage one another, pray for one another, hold one another accountable, spur one another on. God created us for community, to live and function in the context of authentic relationships. The world says that we can be independent and be our own person. But God created us for relationship, with Him and with each other.

Hebrews 10:25 says, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another . . .”

If you’re not already committed to a small group of believers, I urge you to find one this month and begin meeting regularly with them. You need them and just as importantly, they need you! We are the body of Christ, an interconnected living entity that is complex and beautiful and diverse. God says we belong to one another (Romans 12:5). This idea was conceived in the mind of God – and He says that when we’re working together properly as a body, we can change the world. No part can survive, let alone thrive, in isolation.