Notes on Hope Devotional

Better Together

Ecclesiastes 4:9, 10 (NIV)
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.

Ecclesiastes is full of wisdom and principles for living. These two verses speak to our need for people and not doing life alone. We are created for connection.

Over the past few years, two things have impacted our lives in ways we never imagined: technology and Covid. Screens replaced the in-person presence of being together. The research has shown how isolation has affected us. Our brains and bodies have neurons that need to fire off to function well. Face-to-face contact sets that in motion.

A favorite author who recently passed away, Dr. Larry Crabb, said,

“I have come to believe that the root of all of our personal and emotional difficulties is a lack of togetherness, a failure to connect that keeps us from receiving life and prevents the life in us from spilling over onto others.”

(Larry Crabb, author of Connecting, page 32, Word Publishing 1997)

My own experience over the past seven years of living alone has positioned me to make intentional plans to avoid isolation. However, reaching out can be filled with some obstacles. When I’m tired, I tend to tell myself, “Oh, they wouldn’t want to.” Or, my own fear of rejection sets me up to not reach out. When I push past the lies in my head, I find a sense of satisfaction that verifies the verse, “one can help the other up.”

Definitely, “there is good return for their labor” when we do life with others. We are better together. 

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for creating us to be together. Thank You for the people in our lives that reflect You and Your love. Help us step out of fear to be together. In Jesus Name, Amen.