Jan 5 • Dr. Van Moody

God’s Will, God’s Way: Why We Need Each Other

There's something profoundly counterintuitive about how God works. We live in a culture that celebrates the self-made individual, the lone wolf, the person who "pulls themselves up by their bootstraps." Yet when we look at Scripture, we see a different pattern emerging—one where God's most significant work happens not in isolation, but in the context of community.

The Upper Room: Where Everything Changed

Picture this: Jerusalem, shortly after Jesus ascended to heaven. A group of about 120 believers gathered in an upper room, waiting. They had witnessed the impossible—their crucified rabbi had risen from the dead, appeared to them over forty days, and then ascended into heaven before their very eyes. Before leaving, Jesus gave them explicit instructions: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised."

Wait. That's all they were told to do.

But notice what they did while waiting. Acts 1:14 tells us: "They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers." They didn't scatter to their individual homes to pray in private. They didn't each seek God in their own way, on their own time. They came together. They stayed together. They prayed together.

This wasn't accidental. This was intentional community, and it became the crucible where the Holy Spirit would soon pour out power that would change the world.

The Promise of Power

Before His ascension, Jesus made an extraordinary promise: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." This wasn't just about individual empowerment—it was about collective mission. The disciples would need each other to fulfill what God was calling them to do.

The Holy Spirit's work in our lives produces fruit that's inherently relational: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These aren't qualities we develop in a vacuum. They're forged in the sometimes-difficult, always-rewarding context of doing life with others.

When Disappointment Strikes

One of the most powerful aspects of that upper room gathering was that these believers came together in the aftermath of profound disappointment. Judas, one of their own, had betrayed Jesus. The dream of an immediate restoration of Israel's kingdom had been deferred. They were confused, grieving, and uncertain about what came next.

Peter stood up among them and addressed the elephant in the room—Judas's betrayal and tragic death. He didn't pretend it hadn't happened. He didn't spiritualize away the pain. He acknowledged it openly, in community.

This is where community becomes essential for getting over disappointment:

You realize you're not alone in your struggle. When disappointment hits, our first instinct is often to isolate, to nurse our wounds in private. But isolation amplifies pain. When we come together, we discover that others have faced similar struggles and survived.

Others offer perspective you can't see yourself. When you're in the middle of disappointment, your vision narrows. You can only see what went wrong. Community provides peripheral vision—people who can see angles and possibilities you've missed.

Community provides practical support. Sometimes you need more than encouragement; you need help. You need someone to watch your kids while you process. You need a meal when you're too exhausted to cook. You need a friend who will sit in silence with you when words fail.

You don't have to perform strength. In isolation, we feel pressure to have it all together. In authentic community, we can be honest about our weakness, our confusion, our pain.

You see examples of resilience. Every community has people who have walked through fire and emerged stronger. Their stories become guideposts for your own journey.

Finding Direction Together

After addressing the disappointment of Judas's betrayal, the community faced a practical question: they needed to replace Judas to restore the number of apostles to twelve. This wasn't just about filling a vacancy—it was about discerning God's will for their collective mission.

Notice their process. They identified the qualifications needed. They nominated two qualified candidates. They prayed, asking God to reveal His choice. Then they cast lots, trusting God to direct the outcome. Matthias was chosen and added to the eleven.

This reveals another crucial truth: we need community to find direction in life.

Other people see things in you that you can't see. You might not recognize your own gifts, but others do. You might underestimate your capacity, but others believe in you. Community calls out potential you didn't know you had.

You need honest feedback, not just affirmation. Real friends don't just tell you what you want to hear. They tell you what you need to hear. They help you see blind spots. They ask hard questions that force you to think more deeply about your decisions.

You learn by watching others navigate their own paths. There's no instruction manual for most of life's big decisions. But when you're in community, you get to observe how others discern God's will, how they handle transitions, how they make difficult choices.

Isolation magnifies anxiety and indecision. When you're alone with your thoughts, small concerns become catastrophes. Options multiply endlessly. But in community, things come into clearer focus. Conversation clarifies. Prayer together brings peace.

Different people activate different parts of you. You're not the same person with everyone. Different relationships draw out different aspects of your personality, different gifts, different possibilities. Community helps you become more fully yourself.

Trusting God's Process

Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." This trust isn't just individual—it's communal. We acknowledge God together. We trust His direction together. We walk the path together.

Jesus Himself said it would be better for Him to go away so the Holy Spirit could come. That Spirit, poured into our hearts, fills us with God's love and empowers us for mission. But that mission was never meant to be carried out alone.

The Invitation

The upper room wasn't just a historical moment—it's a pattern for how God works. He calls us into community. He empowers us together. He uses us collectively to accomplish what we could never do individually.

Where is your upper room? Who are the people you're waiting with, praying with, discerning with? If you're trying to navigate life's disappointments alone, if you're struggling to find direction in isolation, perhaps it's time to come together with others who are seeking God's will, God's way.

Because God's will doesn't just happen to you—it happens in you, through you, and most often, with you. With others. In community. Together.
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