“Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him, and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:12
Friendship
When I was a young adult, my college group went to San Francisco to do street witnessing. I was a scared, shy, quiet girl with no aspirations of witnessing on street corners or going up to strangers (and in my mind, the people we would meet would be plenty strange). This was way out of my comfort zone, but I felt the strength and safety in numbers. Whatever happened would happen to all of us. It was a group of friends and me against the world.
I still do not have the habit of going up to strangers to share Jesus with them, although if God opens a door and nudges me through it, I pray for the boldness to go. But there have been plenty of other things He has called me to do that required complete trust and radical obedience, not seeing outcomes, but stepping out in plain faith.
When I was young in the Lord, I didn’t yet grasp the concept of “Christ in me”—that sense of not being one, but two. The sense of not being alone, but in the presence of God, knowing I wasn’t working or walking alone, because the Holy Spirit is within me to guide and help.
Christ in me is the “two” that can withstand the enemy who would overpower me. There is no power greater than His! The threefold cord, then, can be viewed in different ways, but one way is “Christ in me, plus a friend.” A friend to lift me when I fall. A friend to help get the work done (because we can work harder and accomplish more together). A friend to keep me company, to love me, to encourage me, to “keep me warm,” so to speak (verses 9-11).
This is one way the Lord keeps us strong and fruitful. Christ in us, with a friend alongside. Pretty much everyone in the Bible had a friend, with the possible exception of John the Baptist who at least had disciples. Christ in me, plus a friend, keeps me spiritually, emotionally, and mentally healthy so I can do the will of God. This strength of unity is how He designed our lives to be lived.
Ill health, brokenness, and tragedy can happen to anyone, but, “Woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up” (verse 10). Spend time in awareness of Christ in you, and then, if you don’t have a godly friend to complete the threefold cord, ask God to bring one to you.
Jesus, when we’re fearful and uncertain, remind us that You in us can withstand the enemy. Thank You for the godly friends You give us to complete the three-fold cord. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.