Looking for the Balance

Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him." Genesis 2:18 (New American Standard Bible)

It has always puzzled me that when Adam had only God and the animals in the Garden of Eden God said it wasn’t good for him to be alone. As one who battles dependency issues on a daily basis, God’s words spoken about Adam confuse me. I keep thinking God is suppose to be enough. God is suppose to be all I need. There is the pull toward others but I am told it is an idol of my heart. I am told that God gives us people in our life to encourage us, help us, strengthen us, and love us. Yet when I look for those things I am told to get my eyes back on Jesus. There seems to be a limit and I feel I am always stepping over that limit.

As a child, I never thought I loved people too much. All I know is that I enjoyed friendships. As an adult, I am told to come to Jesus like a child and live out my Christian life in child likeness. Yet when it comes to relationships I feel I am asked to live on a college level. Accept help from others but don’t look to them to be your help. Fellowship is necessary for us but don’t get excited over it. Interactions with others has become an area of my life that lacks freedom and spontaneity. I feel I am constantly tightening the reigns on my natural longings and desires. I am told to be myself. Be the person God made me and yet for the most part that entails denial of how I think and feel and a holding back.

God said it was not good for man to be alone and yet I feel like I am suppose to live isolated from anyone who is special to me. Relationships are like a swinging pendulum to me….always going from one extreme to the next. So where do I find a balance? Realize it is not an either/or choice between God and people. People are God’s gift and He wants me to come to place of being able to appreciate and accept those gifts of friendship with Him at the center. When I meet with a friend it is really a three-some…me, the person, and God. God is not upset that I delight in the ones He crosses my path with. My relationship with others is meant to be a good thing. At times, people are used to fill the voids and holes in my life. I just want to be at peace with that rather than live with a sense of condemnation and failure. I want to find the balance between relationships with people and my relationship with God. May God speak His “not good” over every wrong conclusion I draw.

Father, help me to see that my walk with You includes (not excludes) others. Settle my mind and my heart on this issue. I bring my questions to You for only You can supply the answers. Amen.

For Good
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzrGFQysfYU

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.