I can't do it alone.

I have a couple of quotes on my wall at work that I put up to remind me of things in my life that I sometimes forget.  One of the ones that is the largest on my wall is "I can't do it alone". This didn't come from some famous author, its just a simple statement that anyone can say that holds a lot of truth.One of my favorite songs as a kid in church camps and youth group was "Lean on Me."  It came along with lots of hand motions and fun ways to sing it, so as a kid its perfect.  But I thought back this morning to the words of the song and again...they carry a lot of truth."Lean on me, when you're not strong, and Ill be your friend, Ill help you carry on.  For, it won't be long till I'm gunna need somebody to lean on."  So I can talk about these "truths" in these quotes and songs all day, but lets turn to the real TRUTH and see what God has to say about it.  God put a few stories on my heart this morning reminding me of the importance of not being able to do it alone.  Here are a few examples...Adam & Eve (Genesis 2)Genesis 2:18 - "The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”  Think about it, this is God's first attempt and creating a human being.  The very first thing God realized about humans was that they shouldn't be alone.  If God thinks that, well I know He's a lot smarter than I am, so I'll believe Him!Noah and the Ark (Genesis 6 & 7)Genesis 6:19 - "You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you."Genesis 7:1 - "The Lord then said to Noah, 'Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.'"God doesn't forget about how Adam needed a helper.  God's heart is such that in all His creation he tends to create things in pairs.  Its a testament to how His heart is, and how He is giving us the ability to show love to others and demonstrate His love for us through other people on this earth.  God could have very easily just started over after the flood or just brought one animal a piece to save room on the ark and then just made more after the flood.  But he didn't.  He didn't just have two of every animal come, he had Noah's entire family.  God knows that the way He created this earth that we can't do it alone.Moses in Battle (Exodus 17)Exodus 17:11-13 - "As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword."This may be my favorite model of friendship in all of the bible.  Moses hears from God and understands His power by simply holding his hands up.  His friends (Aaron and Hur) notice Moses's faith and when he grows tired they immediately come to his aid and raise his hands for him.  The Israelites would have been defeated had it not been for Moses's friends who were beside him throughout the entire battle. Jesus and the Disciples (Luke 6)Luke 6:12-13 - "One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles"So lets get this straight...Jesus (who is God) was praying and after he was finished praying it was made clear to him to call out these 12 guys to walk alongside Him to fulfill His ministry.  This is the perfect example of how Jesus is proving to us how to live our lives.  If its good enough for Jesus its good enough for me.  He didn't do it alone either!  I could go on and on with the bible showing groups of people that did it together (David and Jonathan is another great story you should read in 1 Samuel 18).  But in short, regardless of how much power we have, ultimately we need someone else to lean on, someone else to lift our hands up, someone else to encourage us throughout our lives.  This is the entire concept of "spotting" when you are at the gym.  While you can do the first reps no problem, its those last few that you may need help with, and the spotter should be encouraging you the entire time.So my question is this.  Who is your spotter in your life?  Do you have someone like Moses did in Aaron and Hur that will lift you up when you are down and tired?  If not, even Jesus saw that this was important, so what are you waiting for?  Find that person (or people) in your life that can do it.  If you don't have any, make it a point to go meet new people and find someone you can count on.  Thats what church family is all about, so that would be a great place to start!Just remember, and keep telling yourself..."I can't do it alone"Ecclesiastes 4:12 - "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."