Poster Archive : AUGUST 2011
Message:Don't walk alone
Bible verse: “…behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
We’re not meant to be alone. A 2001 study done by the American Psychosomatic Society found that isolated people die sooner. If you’re alone it’s hard to get medical help. But that wasn’t the significant reason. Put simply, the body of a socially isolated person doesn’t function as well as other people. Why? Well, science has only some answers to offer.
For example, touch is important. When you’re touched warmly, the body releases Oxytocin, a hormone that builds trust and reduces levels of the stress hormone Cortisol. While this is fascinating it’s only a small part of the story. Psychology has shown that that we’re social creatures. We need affirmation, encouragement… we long to work in teams.
And there are so many ingredients that make up a meaningful relationship: finding common ground, laughing, learning from others, trusting, surviving hardship... the list goes on and on. And just when we think the list is complete, we discover another important factor.
We humans are good at analysing the parts of things with science and psychology and so forth. But it’s impossible to understand the ‘whole’ without hearing from the maker. God is the one who understands relationships best because He made us. And our greatest purpose is to be in relationship. Firstly with God, but then with other people. God is so clever at making relationships work that He designed sex to help husbands and wives know each other more deeply. It’s not too small a thing to say that ‘relationships are the most important thing in the universe’.
The Bible says through its many pages that we should walk with God. From Noah at the start who walked with God, then Abraham, to whom God said, ‘Walk before me and be blameless’ through to the writers of the New Testament who insist that we ‘walk by the Spirit’ of God. So what does it mean to ‘Walk with God’? It means getting to know God by listening to His voice in the Bible. It means praying to His son Jesus.
Jesus died on the cross to make relationship with God possible. And Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit of God into the hearts of all those who trust in him. At the end of Matthew’s gospel Jesus encouraged his disciples with these words: “…behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
So, don’t walk alone. Walk with God.
Prayer: Dear Father, please help me to walk with you in prayer.Amen.
