Solitary

 

Sometimes it's nice to know we have a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

A man of many companions may come to ruin,
    but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Proverbs 18:24

Time for a true confession.  Dealing with this physical pain lately, I have become addicted to playing solitaire on my phone to get off my feet and get my mind off the pain.  This particular morning I went for my phone before my Bible and conviction set in.

Solitaire means a single gem or a game played alone. It is derived from the word solitary meaning going alone, not being part of a group, to perform without companions, or to be isolated.

A couple thoughts spurred on in my brain from the word solitaire....

1) We were not created to do life alone. Granted at times it seems a lot easier, but it's not wise. When we have those urges to isolate, those are the times when we probably need someone to pray with us and suggest we right our rudder and avoid temptation.

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.                 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.     Galatians 6:2

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.  Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 

2) Jesus, our ultimate Friend,  says he will always be with us, "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5  He says he is the Friend who sticks closer than a brother and blessed are those who have Him as their Friend.  He was also known as a "friend of sinners" in Luke 7:34

Also, there are angels watching over us!  A friend begins chemo today and I texted her not only was her guardian angel with her, but there were angels encamped about the cancer center! I don't think we stop enough and acknowledge all that is happening in the spiritual realm.

3) Jesus came to earth as a single gem, a solitaire, to do what no one else could do. Yet, He stayed connected to the Father and also gathered a close knit group of 12 friends to do life here on earth with Him, even knowing in advance there would not be perfect.

We need to be alone with the Lord, but we also need community and to be part of the Body.

A Video on One Solitary Life by the John 10:10 Project

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT2PkBnkpeg

One Solitary Life

He was born in an obscure village The child of a peasant woman
He grew up in another obscure village Where he worked in a carpenter shop Until he was thirty

He never wrote a book

He never held an office
He never went to college
He never visited a big city
He never travelled more than two hundred miles From the place where he was born
He did none of the things
Usually associated with greatness
He had no credentials but himself

He was only thirty three

His friends ran away
One of them denied him
He was turned over to his enemies
And went through the mockery of a trial
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves While dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing The only property he had on earth

When he was dead
He was laid in a borrowed grave Through the pity of a friend

Nineteen centuries have come and gone
And today Jesus is the central figure of the human race And the leader of mankind's progress
All the armies that have ever marched
All the navies that have ever sailed
All the parliaments that have ever sat
All the kings that ever reigned put together
Have not affected the life of mankind on earth
As powerfully as that one solitary life