Let’s Talk about Us

Today, I want to talk about us.

Not literally you reading this & me writing this, but us as a community. We need each other.

As people, we were made to need community… with God… & with each other.

So many of God’s commands revolve around us loving one another, because God first loved us, so should we love one another.

The Church

And that is a big design element when God established The Church… not just as a crowd of people sitting in pews, listening to a pastor preach from God’s Word, the Bible… although that is a very important part of our lives as The Church.

And it’s not a building where we go to sit… WE are The Church.

Not a building, but a family.

Not a biological family, but a family made family by accepting God as our loving, heavenly PERFECT Father, heirs together with Jesus Christ, who gave His life on our behalf, in obedience to God & because of His great love for us… to pay our penalty so we could be reunited as family under God.

WE are the family. WE are The Church.

We Need Each Other

I want to take a moment to express how valuable it is to meet together & praise & worship God together, while also hearing teaching from God’s Word, as we do when we “go to church,” but us as The Church FAMILY does not end beyond those walls.

I will say it again, we were MADE to NEED each other.

We were MADE to NEED GOD.

We were NOT made to be self-sufficient or self-reliant.

Trauma Leads Us to Isolate

I will be the first to admit to you that this concept was not always easy for me. Trauma of having someone you trust betray you can leave you feeling very much like you were MADE to NEED to be self-sufficient… that you can’t rely on someone else… that you can only truly rely on yourself.

But that is trauma… & that is Satan taking your trauma & instead of encouraging you into the loving arms of our great, capable Healer (God), it is Satan instead convincing us to isolate & try endlessly & exhaustively to try to manage on our own… a way that was never meant to be as a part of God’s original design of US.

If You Really Had Faith…

Many of us have grown up in the church (aka GOING to church), hearing how we should be for God “if we truly have faith.” Many of us have grown up seeing displayed for us the “necessity” to be good enough for God because we “have faith” & therefore “should be able to handle it just fine.”

How damaging an ideal that is!

God tells us “faith like a mustard seed can move mountains.” A mustard seed is itty bitty. In other words, it’s not at all about having ENOUGH faith, but rather about WHO your faith is IN that matters.

We Were Not Made to Be Self-Sufficient

But I am getting sidetracked… my point in mentioning that little nugget of truth that I need to constantly remind myself—that it’s not about what YOU can do FOR God, but what GOD can do if you are trusting Him MORE than you trust YOURSELF—is that we were NOT made to be self-sufficient.

We were made to NEED help.

And the toxic, false (non-Biblical) lessons we feed ourselves of our call to be holy meaning specifically that we can NEVER show or reveal imperfection/weakness/vulnerability to one another is SO DAMAGING.

We were MADE to NEED HELP.

… Help from God & from others… that we are to lift up, encourage, edify, build up, sharpen, correct-in-loving-concern-not-in-self-righteous-judgement, & LOVE one another!

No One Is Perfect… Especially Not ME

And get this… because we ALL (literally, ALL) of us make mistakes, are imperfect, are limited, get it wrong sometimes, don’t know everything, & need HELP… we can learn to let our guard down & just be HONEST with others about our own flaws.

Because, listen up to this… we are not supposed to be displaying to the world how WE’VE got it all together… but how GOD holds it all together.

We are to accept our own frail human condition & our great need for our even greater God… showing our weaknesses & trading that for God’s HELP & GRACE with every step.

Come Together in Humility & Grace

And we are meant to come together in that type of humility & grace & love for one another, constantly reminding each other that God is always waiting & able to help… that He cares SO MUCH for us that even when we ignored His perfect, designed ways, as spelled out to us in the Bible & even when we live our way as if we know better than this all-knowing eternal God… EVEN WHEN… His plan all along, from before time, was to rescue us through the willing, loving sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

And that because of Jesus Christ, we can find forgiveness… we can find healing… we can find restoration & GRACE in the arms of our great, awesome, & loving God.

Not That You’re Enough… But That HE IS

Allow yourself the grace to admit your own human frailty & to admit you were MADE TO NEED GOD & each other… & instead of working hard to prove you’re enough… work to prove that HE IS.

Seek community in The Church FAMILY. Seek to build each other up. Be on the lookout for weak spots in others & seek how you can help… whether it be encouraging a single mother with meals… or cleaning your church building… or offering to mow someone’s lawn after surgery… or being a shoulder to cry on in grief….

Or, even in just saying, “Hey, I don’t have all the answers & you don’t have to beat yourself up for not having them either. We weren’t made to be self-sufficient… we were made to need God & each other, so let’s ask God for help. Can we talk to God about it real quick & let Him know how you’re feeling/hurting & ask for His help right now? I know He can help much better than I ever could. And I will ask Him to help me know where I can help you, too.”

Not Just Well-Meaning Words…

That statement of offering to pray about ideas of how you can help one another is not something you say to get out of helping… to sound pious & spiritual… but out of humility & TRUST that God REALLY DOES KNOW how to help best.

And when God nudges your heart to act on their behalf & lend them a hand, be ready to turn your anxieties about lack of time, lack of ability, or lack of resources back to your own prayers of request to Him, “Hey God, I don’t know how to do that thing you’re nudging my heart to help with, though, & it makes me nervous & I want to avoid it even though I feel guilty feeling that way…. Can You help me overcome my apprehensions & give me the courage & wisdom to know how to help them in a way that gives you glory & honor & displays Your great love for them? Please don’t let me give in to fear & allow Satan to pull me away because I don’t know how on my own… because I know You are MORE than capable of helping where I lack… & because I know I was MADE to NEED YOU. So, please… help me.”

Strive Toward Community

We Need Each Other. Strive toward community with others & always SHINE HOPE by pointing out our need for our great & loving need-Provider. And not the “needs” we have already decided or determined we need… & thus judging His level & care based on OUR limited-perspective solutions… but trusting that God sees the WHOLE picture & has 100% PERFECT knowledge & wisdom to handle it way better than you ever could.

Shine hope by acknowledging your need of God, through Christ, with the leading & help of the Holy Spirit & POINTING to Him in ALL things… & striving to come together with others in humility & love & GRACE.

Vulnerability isn’t a weakness. It’s a reality.

But He’s got you, babe.

Coming Next Week

Join me every Monday morning, EST, for more encouragement.

As God grows me, may it encourage you to seek Him & know Him & love Him more every day.

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A Note from Michelle:

This blog/website has been running for TWO years now! THANK YOU for your continued support & encouragement. <3

If you would like to hear more of my story, check out the “About Me” page. And if you would like to hear how I found my lasting source of HOPE, read the “Hope Is Found” page, on this site. I hope they are an encouragement to you! <3

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Fashion as a Force for GOOD:

Each week, I feature an item that is changing lives for women around the world. These hand-crafted pieces are offering job creation opportunities for women artisans in impoverished nations all around the world! Check out this week’s featured beauty!!

Nairobi Necklace

Small hammered ovals & ethically sourced bone shapes adorn this golden necklace that shimmers in the light. Crafted in Kenya.

Artisan Information:

In Kenya, where many people struggle with starvation & poverty, the women we partner with are defying the odds! Your purchase empowers these women to earn an income, overcome physical disabilities, & become important parts of their communities!

Purchase this piece & empower a woman in Kenya!

How You Can Help:

SHOP Here, OR, Email me at michellehyde.tradesofhope@gmail.com with any questions, & I will message you personally with more information!! Thank you for inspiring HOPE around the world, Lovely!