TWO ARE BETTER THAN ONE - Part Two

Arise, get thee to Zarephath, …and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee (1Kings 17:9).
Many Christians often put themselves at unnecessary disadvantage because they do not know that two are better than one. Either as a result of pride or ignorance, they have not yet received God’s winning formula. Even when things are messy, they like for everyone to think that everything is alright with them. They sit in quiet solitude in their closets to weep lamentably while God’s help is readily available next-door. And when they step out, they put up appearances of wellbeing, not wanting to be seen as needing help. But again I tell you a secret: two are better than one.
                                                                             Download the PDF


I do not speak of those who by virtue of seeing from the realm of faith judge that indeed all is well. Because such ones, even in their closets, sing of their victory. They rejoice before their God who has made them perpetual victors in all things. I speak of those who won’t open up before the brethren because, to them, (and to them alone), to do so is to be vulnerable. So when they face issues, they cover them up and keep to themselves. Therefore while they appear okay to the natural eye, they are suffering within.
This behavior is a direct result of pride. It is proud people who hate to receive help. They are ever ready to offer help to others because it bolsters their pride and even supplies them a fake sense of strength. But they themselves find it difficult to receive any kind of help from others. They reckon that they would rather die as lone rangers. Such a lone ranger attitude is of the world and it goes against the principle of unity in the body of Christ. Unity is attained when there is the giving and receiving of love. A person must therefore not just learn to give love, he must also learn to receive love and thereby allow brotherly love to be effective (cf. Heb 13:1).
 
As a growing Christian, the Lord showed me something that left an indelible mark on me. I was being raised in a company where a personal relationship with the Lord was stressed. Even though it was a good teaching, I was beginning to develop a wrong attitude. I started feeling I did not really need anyone. I thought between God and me everything should be solved. No need for a third party. I was wrong. Anyone who has a good relationship with the Lord will realize the importance of the brethren and how the Lord speaks and relates to us through the brethren also. So in our love relationship with the Lord we must learn to relate with Him not only in our closet but also in the brethren around us.
 
I had another experience that changed the way I saw the brethren for good. At a point in my studies as a student in the university some years ago, I felt within me a strong urge that the time for dating was ripe. Now, I had been praying about it for a while, you see. Not long after that I met this lady. We started relating and I started noticing some traits that spoke to my heart. There I decided to enquire of the Lord if she was good for me. I waited on the Lord for quite a while without anything to hold on to. I was at the verge of frustration when the Lord ministered something strange to me. I nearly threw it away because I did not expect the Lord to speak like that. He directed me to three people.
He asked me to relate my situation to them and hear what they would have to say. My question was, ‘why do I need to go talk to these people and open up to them concerning something as personal as this when I have the Lord for a personal friend? Couldn’t He just tell me what those people will tell me?’ He could. But God works with a bigger set of tools than we normally realize. And He also works with posterity in view such that He will not want to leave a wrong impression on you. You see at that time I thought I was a lone ranger and He wanted to settle that once and for all. He wanted to show me His wide range of operation so that I could learn to flow in it. I grudgingly went ahead to speak to the people in question. Surprisingly they all said the same thing. They all spoke about putting myself in a certain mode where I could easily hear what God had to say.
What they said was not the answer but it led me to find the answer. Do you know what happened? After applying what they told me, God spoke. In fact he spoke out loud such that I heard Him in my ears. Now I had my answer. Think of it. God sent me round and brought me back to where I started in order to hear Him speak. So from that time my perspective of the brethren changed drastically. I started discerning the body of Christ. I started making use of what the Lord offered me through the brethren.
 
Let me say that it was a difficult thing for me to open up and be ‘vulnerable’ before these brethren I spoke to. I felt open and I did not like it. I APPEARED weak and that was not the impression I wanted to leave on them. Later I learnt that it is rather strength to open up and that it is the weak who are afraid of opening up. It is strength to ask for help. It is strength to receive help from the brethren. It is not weakness at all. This is how God operates. When He gives a solution to one, He expects that those around the person will learn the solution from that person. It is the same with spiritual understanding. When He gives it to one, He expects that the others will learn from him. It is therefore foolhardy to neglect learning from the brethren. Some people, in their pride, say they will not learn what another is saying since God would have shown them if He wanted them to know. To
such I say, God is already showing you. He really is by bringing that brother or sister your way. Come down and learn and you will see the teaching hand of the Lord in that fellow.
 
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which arein any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God (2Co 1:3,4).
Two are better than one. Learn to open up to the brethren. Is it some sin you are struggling with? Is it a counsel you need? Is it an understanding you are looking for? Perhaps you are feeling hungry and you have nothing in your pocket? Why not receive the help that God has supplied in the form of the brethren? Why not also receive such help from the elders set over you? Why not see the Lord working in the brother or sister you are walking with? 

For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God; Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men (2Co 9:12,13);
From the above scripture you will notice that after those in need had received the help from the other brethren who gave, they glorified God for the supply. By this you can see how the early church saw the hand of God at work even when they received help from the brethren. The Lord works with His body which is the Church such that to neglect the body is to neglect the Lord. Learn to discern the body. Learn to play your role and also receive the role of another.
 
Note that it is not every brother or sister that you must open up to. Let the Lord lead you in that regard. This is because it is not everyone who is wise enough to know how to handle the situation and also relate healthily with you after the issue has been shared. This is one reason many people keep rejecting the idea of opening up. But my point is that you cannot give up on something good because others have perverted it. You must just learn to operate wisely in choosing the people you open up to. The devil knows the strength in shared strength that is why he has succeeded in creating a lot of division and mistrust among believers. Reject this lone ranger attitude and open your arms to the brethren.Begin to realize the company of the mighty and operate therein. I do not care about my strength alone. I care about the strength of the company I am with also. I face the devil in a company knowing that God has got my back through the brethren. As I put the devil down, I affirm the principle that indeed two are better than one.