Home > Work > Side by Side: Walking with Others in Wisdom and Love
1 " Yet weakness—or neediness—is a valuable asset in God’s community. Jesus introduced a new era in which weakness is the new strength. Anything that reminds us that we are dependent on God and other people is a good thing. Otherwise, we trick ourselves into thinking that we are self-sufficient, and arrogance is sure to follow. We need help, and God has given us his Spirit and each other to provide it. "
― Edward T. Welch , Side by Side: Walking with Others in Wisdom and Love
2 " When happy, we possess something we love; when anxious, something we love is at risk; when despondent, something we love has been lost; when angry, something we love is being stolen or kept from us. "
3 " Only people who know they have burdens can be delivered from them. "
4 " Side by side is most suitable for helping. We "
5 " We can think that God is good, and we are pleased with him, though we might be pleased less with him than we are with the ease of our lives. Then, when life is hard—especially when life remains hard—the allegiances of our hearts "
6 " We spend too much time concealing our neediness. We need to stop hiding. Being needy is our basic condition. There is no shame in it—it’s just the way it is. Understanding this, accepting it, and practicing it will make you a better helper. "
7 " Friends are the best helpers. They come prepackaged with compassion and love. All they need is wisdom, and that is available to everyone. "
8 " Your neediness qualifies you to help others. Your neediness, offered well to someone else, can even be one of the great gifts you give to your church. You will inspire others to ask for help. "
9 " Confession is always a good place to start when we feel lost. "
10 " Who we love above all else is who we worship, and who we worship controls us. "
11 " The basic idea is that those who help best are the ones who both need help and give help. A healthy community is dependent on all of us being both. "
12 " A child dies two days after birth. Her parents cried out for help, and hundreds of friends cried out too. Might there still have been deliverance? Consider that the parents had been delivered from death and the Evil One and that the child belonged to God and would be with him. Those deliverances might not lessen the parents’ and friends’ grief, but they do mean that the community can grieve with hope. "
13 " Our task is simple: ask for prayer and then let those who have prayed for us know what God has done. It is simple, but it is also a powerful intrusion of the Spirit in the everyday life of the church. "
14 " If God used only experts and people of renown, some could boast in their own wisdom, but God’s way of doing things is not the same as our way. We ordinary people have been given power and wisdom through the Holy Spirit and are called to love others (John 13:34). "
15 " What is most important to us? What do we love? What is most dear to us?2 We shouldn’t be surprised that these questions get to the core of our being. They also point to where we are headed. All roads eventually lead to our relationship with God. Do we love what he loves? Is he most dear to us? "
16 " Practice saying, “I am a sinner, saved by grace. "
17 " Why would anyone entertain Satan’s questions about God’s goodness when everything is good? But a few bumps in the road, and our knowledge of God seems fragile, and that’s what Satan is counting on. "
18 " When suffering knocks on someone’s door, Satan too comes knocking. Life is a war zone, and Satan is the enemy strategist. He waits for those times when people are in the wilderness—vulnerable, desperate, and God seemingly far away or absent altogether. That’s when Satan’s questions about God’s character, which might seem silly during the good times, suddenly make sense. Why would anyone entertain Satan’s questions about God’s goodness when everything is good? But a few bumps in the road, and our knowledge of God seems fragile, and that’s what Satan is counting on. "
19 " all suffering raises a relational question: Does God love me? So we pray to know him accurately and better (Eph. 1:17; 3:17–19). As we do, we aim for rest, because resting in him is a way to honor him. "
20 " Here is a community goal: to be able to identify one pattern of sin in our lives, "
