‘Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man. “At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’” This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.’ Genesis 2:18-25(NLT)
‘Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.’ Ecclesiastes 4:9-12(NLT)
Creation is so basic to understanding relationship goals that we need to go back there for a second devotional. With me?
God made the sun and the moon and the sky and said, “It is good.” He made water and dry land and said, “It is good.” He made plants like spinach and kale, and then, for me, all the ingredients for a delicious soul-food dinner, and said, “It is good.” Then He made the sea creatures like Willy and Nemo and Flounder, and all the wild animals like Timon, Pumbaa, and Simba, and said, “It’s good.” When He made Adam, He said, “It’s very good.” It was all good.
But pretty soon God said for the first time, “It’s not good.” It’s not that God had messed up—He never messes up. Something was missing. “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone’ ” (Genesis 2:18).
This principle is true for all Adam’s children as well. It’s not good for you to be alone. It’s not good for me to be alone.
When we set up a life that is guarded and gated, the enemy comes to attack us. When we’re isolated, we’re at more risk of listening to lies about who we are and coming to believe them as truth.
We all need relationship with people who can remind us of the truth and dispel the falsehood, who can show us some of the love our hearts need, who can help us along our way. God knows this. And that’s why God wants relationship for us.
Is it hard for you to believe that a major part of God’s plan for your life involves relationship?
He wants you to have a best friend, even though the last one stabbed you in the back. He wants you to have pastors and mentors who create a safe place to grow and become. He wants you to be in a marriage that works and is marked by love, honor, respect, and fun. Granted, your past relationships might have been, well…the opposite of that. But God is a Redeemer, so He can take whatever is broken and jacked up and work it for your good.
Spend some time thanking God for your existing relationships and asking Him to guide you into new ones that will help you fulfill His purposes in your life.
from Relationship Goals by Pastor Michael Todd