Better Together: Be Strong in the Lord

In every facet of life, the pressures leaders face can cause them to lose their nerve. Leaders are sabotaged and triangulated. Leaders can lose their identity by trying to please all the people, all the time. I like the saying, “We have an audience of One.” We like to please people, but we are ultimately here to please the Lord. When we forget this truth, we will follow the wrong path.

It would have been easy for the Apostle Paul to have lost his nerve and quit. He did not quit. He put on the whole armor of God. That helped him persevere. However, he took more than a defensive posture. He stood firm. He attacked with the sword of the Spirit. He also stayed strong by the prayers of the saints and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

We are so much stronger when we are not alone. We need previous generations to coach, train and deploy us. We learn from our wounds and share our wisdom with others. Having wisdom and relationships is a major goal of life. Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit – the “comforter, the counselor.” We need the presence of God and the company of other believers. If Christians claim to not need the church, I want to ask, “Then how did you ever hear the gospel?” We are Christians only because others have passed the faith to us. We are commanded to pass it forward, too. We are stronger together.

- Pastor Tom Harrison