Hi there, my name is Lauren Shields with the GOD TV team, and I want to welcome you to God Today. Today, I’m going to be talking to you about community, and it kind of co-works together as in finding community and then having community. Community is so important. It’s actually very, very essential for walking out the call of God on your life.
I did not personally choose community for a long time. I actually even had community handed to me and made for me. And I, I don’t think I was fully aware of what I was doing, but I did not choose it. I was like, oh, I’m okay without people. I grew up kind of in an isolated, unhealthy environment. And so to me, I thought that I was actually really healthy and I was actually really strong if I didn’t need people. Whereas actually it’s what I needed the most. And, in every area and every season, I think that we actually really need community. There are times that are, that are good for, or that are good for your soul for rest and to, to be able to lay low, maybe, but that still entails having people in your life. Now, even though community can be made for you, or it can not be made for you, I think it’s equally important to choose it and to be intentional with it.
I’ve actually recently gone through some difficult time just regarding bad news with my family. And, previous years before this actually was a huge breakthrough for me, I had chosen to be strong, to be like, no, I can handle this, I can do this. I am healing and I’m healthy and I’m strong. I don’t need people to do things for me. And then this one time, I just felt it was very uncomfortable, but I felt like I was supposed to invite people in and choose specific people to be alongside me and pray for me and encourage me. And that’s really uncomfortable for me sometimes, because like I said, I’m strong and I can do it. And, I’ve just been in this mindset all my life of I have to do things on my own. And so this is really hard for me to choose people and to choose community, and let me tell you, after inviting people in, after getting past that discomfort of, oh, I’m exposed and you, you are going to see the, you know, my pain and my hurt. It actually created more relationship than I knew was possible. It created more connection with people and more friendship with people than I knew could exist. And I actually got to know a side of the Father that I had never known before, and it was a really beautiful opportunity for me to grow personally and let people love me. And actually so much healing came to me in that.
So I just want to pray for you today regarding community, if you have it, or if you don’t have it. Lord, I just ask that You bless our lives with community, with people who are here in our lives to come alongside us and encourage us and to grow us and even challenge us. Lord, I just thank You for the right people in our lives. And I thank You that You would make known to us who is safe and who is trusting, and that You would just speak to us and how we can choose community and how we can have community. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.