SPEAKER_00: Establishing genuine friendships as an adult can be extremely challenging.
SPEAKER_00: If you're in a lonely stretch right now, trying to build community seemingly from scratch.
SPEAKER_00: Ecclesiastes four, nine through ten names why it may be painful.
SPEAKER_00: Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.
SPEAKER_00: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.
SPEAKER_00: But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.
SPEAKER_00: These are Solomon's words, a man who had all the wealth and power and wisdom and still found life hollow when he tried to carry it alone.
SPEAKER_00: He is pointing at something God built into us from the start.
SPEAKER_00: We were never designed to be self-sufficient.
SPEAKER_00: We were made for connection.
SPEAKER_00: So the longing you feel isn't a flaw.
SPEAKER_00: It's a signal of how he made you.
SPEAKER_00: And even in the waiting, you are not actually walking alone.
SPEAKER_00: He is the one friend who never gets too busy and never lets you fall without reaching for you.
SPEAKER_00: Let's begin by thanking God that he is a steady presence who never leaves, never gets too busy for you, and never turns you away.
SPEAKER_00: Thank him that even in the loneliest stretch, you have already been chosen and deeply loved by him.
SPEAKER_00: What fear about friendship, of reaching out, of being left out, do you need to hand him right now?
SPEAKER_00: Ask him for courage this week to say hello, to show up, to step into the places where community can actually start.
SPEAKER_00: Picture the moment in the verse: someone stumbling, and a hand reaching down to pull them back up, and know his hand is already that close to you.
SPEAKER_00: Quietly tell him, I'm not walking this alone.
SPEAKER_00: You are with me.
SPEAKER_00: Take a moment to pray for them, that God would comfort them and remind them they're loved.
SPEAKER_00: We give you our lonely days and our longing for community, trusting that you see us, you're walking with us, and your timing is good.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.