Being independent is not a biblical way of life. While it is true that we think and do things independent from others, our lifestyles are not designed for self-reliance. No one’s purpose can fully be realized by playing the Lone Ranger. We need each other; otherwise, God would have made us hermits. The reason some of you are having difficulty seeing your God-given vision come to pass is that you’re making it about yourself and what you can do. Developing your own plan of attack is not faith. Doing something you think is good to do will never yield the results found in true faith. Faith is not doing something, then expecting God’s stamp of approval. We know that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Faith does what is heard, and it believes the unseen results before they manifest. There may be numerous occasions when you must “go it alone;” of course, never without God. Nonetheless, our life of faith is interactive. Can one truly be part of the Body of Christ without being connected to it? Cut off one of your arms, and see how long it will live detached from the rest of your body. Even life itself reveals our need for each other. No one would live past infancy without someone else’s care. We need society to function. Name one person who doesn’t rely on people. “Me!” So, you’re saying you produced the food you eat, the clothes you wear, the car you drive and so on? If you bought any of these things, you didn’t produce it; someone else did. Even if you planted your own food, where did you get the seed? If you made your clothes, where did you get the material? Granted, there may be some rare exception, but as a whole, we need each other to survive.
Name one person in Scripture, whose vision or dream did not require others to succeed.
Even Jesus depended on Mary, or had disciples to minister alongside Him. God can do as He pleases without anyone else, but that’s one of the reasons He is God and we are not! Jesus could have just showed up without Mary’s help, but instead, He humbled Himself, which means we must humble ourselves as well (see Philippians 2:3-11). Perhaps, one of the reasons God designed us to do life together is that independence can lead to pride and arrogance. Some are not being promoted to their positions of promise because they have not yet humbled themselves. James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
Experiences can create strongholds. For example, someone may have had a bad experience in a church, and was wounded. The result: “I want nothing to do with the Church. From now on, it’s just God and me!” This may be one reason some want to go it alone in terms of fulfilling their purpose. The truth of the matter is we must remain vulnerable to see things to the end. Jesus went to the Cross knowing many would reject Him. He still died for them. He made it about our Father and us. Hebrews 12:2 Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of faith, Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Not everyone rejected Him, nor will everyone in the Body of Christ set out to hurt you. Forgive and move on! Jesus said it best, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
Not only do you need the Body, the Body needs you! It would be incomplete without you. There are others whom the Lord has placed next to you. That means they need you too. No one else can do for them what you can, and vice versa. There are people with whom God wants you to connect. If you push them away, you will delay your true destiny!
1 Corinthians 12:14-26 For the Body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the Body, just as He desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the Body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, so that there may be no division in the Body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
