Today's promise: God cares for the
persecuted
Do you have a support
group?
A person standing
alone can be attacked and defeated, but two men can stand back-to-back and
conquer.
Ecclesiastes 4:12 NLT
A faithful friend is a strong defense; and he that hath found him hath found a treasure.
Louisa May Alcott
The strength of the huddle
When I asked Mike what
he missed most about pro football, I was surprised by his answer. He said it
was getting into the huddle. You felt safe there, he said. It was where you
could get direction, support, and correction. It was where you could regroup
for the next phase of the battle, knowing 10 other guys were there to help you
win.
Mike said the huddle
was a real refuge during away-games in hostile stadiums, when, besides the
team, they were fighting a negative environment. It was a place where they
could return to for encouragement to keep going.
Every man needs a safe
place to get what he needs to enter into life's conflict. If a man's going to
survive—no, win—the battles of life, he must have a huddle of good men around
him to cheer him on and bandage his wounds. He needs men who will celebrate
with him in the good times and do whatever it takes to bring help and healing
in the bad times.
Rodney L. Cooper in Shoulder to Shoulder
The writer of
Ecclesiastes paints a depressing picture of a man who strives to gain the whole
world alone, then asks himself, "Who am I working for? Why am I giving up
so much pleasure now?" The writer concludes, "It is all so meaningless
and depressing" (Ecclesiastes 4:8). How much better it is to go through
life with a strong network of support. When you share your trials and triumphs
with others, you soon realize that you're not alone. And somehow, when we stand
together, life's challenges don't seem so daunting anymore.
Adapted from Men of Integrity Devotional Bible with
devotions from the editors of Men of Integrity, a publication of
Christianity Today International (Tyndale, 2002), entry for June 29.
Content is derived
from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale
Publishing House
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