“And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone.” (Genesis 2:18, KJV)

Have you ever seen B52 bombers flying in formation? I have never had the privilege of experiencing this in real life but I have seen it on TV. I used to think to myself, “Why do they fly in formation?” So, of course, I googled it and found an interesting explanation on Wikipedia under the title ‘The Combat Box’. In my own words, the formation was formed to help them defend against any enemy attack. It was designed to protect all the planes all at once. From any position that an enemy plane will come from, they will be detected. It’s quite genius if you think about it.

I would like to relate this to our lives and the protection that we have as Christians. Are you in any formation? The scripture I’m basing this encouragement on says, “It is not good that the man should be alone.” Are you alone? You might be thinking that you don’t need anyone in your life but, my friend, that is a lie you are believing.

Now, I have no idea why you are alone – by ‘alone’ I mean, are you without another human being checking in on you or befriending you or helping you when you are in need? People have died and were found days, weeks or months later, because they didn’t have anyone in their lives who would check in on them. There have been 5.5 million people (at the time of writing) who have died of Covid-19, and so many of them were all alone when they did. You might remember that I was in a Covid-19 ward for days back in 2022, all alone and wondering if I was going to die. It’s not a good feeling. It is not good to be alone.

Let’s take a moment to look at the Armor of the Lord:

“Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:14-17, KJV)

Okay, you’ve just read what consists of the Armor of the Lord for our protection. But did you notice that there was a part of the body that is unprotected? There is no protection for the back of the soldier! This poses a question: why would God leave our backs vulnerable? Well, He didn’t. You see, in times of battle, soldiers would go back to back to protect each other. Christian, you have no one to protect your back when you are alone. Whether you believe it or not, you need people – the right people – and, if you ask, the Holy Spirit will help you find the right people. I am sure He will lead you to a church that’s just right for you, or to a support group or club with common interests. But I hope and pray that you connect with other believers; as the old saying goes: “one will slay a thousand, two will slay ten-thousands.”

This scripture really sums it up:

“Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, KJV)

Some folks pride themselves on being independent. Imagine a child learning how to do certain things – when a grown-up tries to help, the child will say, “I got it, mommy, I got it.” That’s great for a child but there are times in life where God’s got it and only God can get it.

I like this definition of faith: being totally dependent on God. There will still be times that you will need the human touch to get through a situation in your life. Love God, love people, and love yourself enough to stop being a hermit on a mountain.

CONFESSION

I will not live life alone!

PRAYER

Holy Spirit, lead me and guide me to a group of believers. When you do, please allow me to be a blessing to them and not just to me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.