Opportunity to strengthen one another
Hebrews 12, James 5
Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
To know any group of Christians is to discover that most everyone is at a different place along the faith race we’ve been given to run. Maturation wise, John noted (cf. 1 John 2) that there are “children” in the family of God (reveling in their forgiveness). The “young men” have grown some, are eager in the Word, anxious to apply it to defeat the devil. And there are the “fathers” who have known God for a long time, who anchor the family in His faithful love.
Strength wise, some of Jesus’ disciples are stronger, some are weaker. Paul urged stronger believers whose consciences allowed them to live with greater liberty to monitor the examples they were setting. Some of their “weaker” brothers/sisters were not able to live similarly without sinning, or having their younger faith destroyed. “None of us lives to himself, none of us dies to himself” (Rom.13:7)…so then let us pursue what makes for peace and mutual upbuilding” (13:19).
The verses above from Hebrews and James underscore that any number in God’s family can become spiritually weak. Falling out of daily fellowship with the Lord (i.e., God “making my day”) may result in drifting into hurtful patterns of sin. Compromised “joints” may buckle resulting in further “dislocation” (e.g., a spiritual ACL tear); running “the race” (cf. Hebrews 12:1-2) may feel impossible.
The Word is clear here about what “the body” must do when any of its members have become compromised in weakness. Withdrawal and isolation must be resisted. Fellow believers must be willing to be open with each other, to admit and confess sin, receive refreshment, encouragement, and ask for restorative prayer. The Lord will hear, answer, bring new strength and joy through the sharing of the tough stuff. Together, hurt can be healed, weakness can become strong.