Fellowship and accountability are powerful -
immeasurably powerful.
I have said over and over that Jesus is all you need. And I will confirm
that and say it again - Jesus is all you need.
In His perfect design He gave us people and human relationships. Why?
God gives us people to encourage one another in following him.
Recently I memorized these verses:
"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their
toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But
woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again,
if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And
though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a
threefold cord is not quickly broken." ~ Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
The Lord could have created us and put us each on our own personal islands.
But He designed us for community - to impact and be impacted by one another
towards Him and living for Him.
Proverbs 27:17 clearly tells us, "Iron sharpens
iron, and one man sharpens another."
There is such incredible power in having others to point us to Jesus, fan the
flame of love for Him in our lives, and challenge us to go deeper in our
relationship with Him.
When I was in my teens, the Lord provided a precious friendship that grew
through accountability and fellowship. My friend and I would call one
another every 2 weeks to keep one another accountable,
share what the Lord was doing in our lives, and find out how we could pray for each
other. This friendship has been a mighty tool in the Lord's hand to bring me
closer to Him. Just recently we talked again - though now many miles separate
us - the fellowship and accountability is priceless.
Many of you have experienced the power of this when you have chosen an
accountability partner for the
Summer Devotions Pursuit, or a similar friendship.
I love the passage in Scripture that talks of how Jonathan and David's
friendship and how they, 
"...strengthened his hand in God." ~
1 Samuel 23:16
That is what we are called to in human friendship.
The Lord works so mightily through fellowship and accountability:
~ Fellowship - a bond, encouragement, and grace in Jesus that comes from sharing the same Savior, love, and goal in life.
~ Accountability - helping, cheering, and challenging one another towards greater depth with Jesus.
I am so grateful for the precious friends that the Lord has used, and uses,
to point me to Him in these ways. The impact on my walk with Jesus and life are immeasurable.
These kind of friendships He gives us are priceless companions sharing the
path on this journey with Jesus and teammates cheering us on in Him until we
cross the finish line of this life.
We are humans who need help, encouragement, accountability,
and correction. The Lord often chooses to work through people to provide this
grace.
Listen carefully to what this verse is telling us:
"But exhort one another every day, as long as it is
called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin."
~ Hebrews 3:13
I want this to be clear - the enemy of your soul loves for you to be
isolated and alone. In this place, he will try to deceive you, discourage you,
and distract you. When we are in godly community and relationships, the Lord
can use them to speak Truth to one another and help expose lies we are
believing and to identify and rejoice in God's work in our lives.
Fellowship and accountability are gifts God has given
for our good and His glory - to point us to Him!
Let's embrace them for His
glory in our lives.
Here are some action steps you can take today:
~ Ask the Lord to provide a godly friendship/godly friendships
~ Pursue one godly friend/godly friends
~ Establish a pattern for encouragement and accountability - This could be a phone call once every 2 weeks, a coffee date, praying for one another, quoting your Bible memory verses to one another, etc.
May the Lord work in a mighty way through your friendship and accountability to draw you closer to Him - your God, dearest
Friend, and Life!
