Life on this side of heaven is full of struggles. Fear, despair, loneliness, doubt, worry, anger, bitterness, and hopelessness can weigh you down. Nothing seems to change. Everything seems out of sorts. Expectant answers to desperate prayers never seem to materialize.
What do you do? Do you isolate yourself and fail to ask for help because you believe the lies of the world-that we should be self-sufficient and “have everything together?” Do you keep others from knowing your struggles to avoid judgment and shame, thinking you are the only one who struggles in this way? Or have you convinced yourself that no one can truly understand your “unique” struggle?
You want help, but where do you go? You want to pour out your heart to someone, but who will listen? What will you say? Who can you trust? Sure, you can go see your doctor or make an appointment to talk with a stranger but will prescribed meds or a weekly session with a therapist really get to the bottom of your heart’s struggle? Are these your only options for help?
This is the exact point-when you come to the end of yourself and realize your efforts to “just deal with it” are futile-where the gospel breaks through! The gospel reveals our life and suffering as a thread interwoven within God’s redemptive story. The gospel points out we aren’t made to live alone, none of us have it all together, and we all struggle with life-we are all desperately helpless and sinful. The gospel declares and demonstrates our hope is found in a person, not in different thinking, relationships or circumstances. Christ died so that in Him, we might find comfort, refuge, strength and joy even in the midst of our sorrows.
In addition to our new life in Christ, God places other people around us to help us live out the gospel. This is by design. Our God in His infinite wisdom designed us to receive help, care, comfort, encouragement and love in community. There is a simple, yet powerful pattern of care described in the gospel:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. (2 Cor. 1:3-4)
The God of all comfort is the source of comfort in all of our troubles! But notice the pattern-God comforts us so that we can comfort others with the comfort received from God. God is glorified when we care for one another’s burdens in community (cf. Gal. 6:2). In the end, it’s all about the church being the church, demonstrating what it means to love one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. This is why we strongly encourage every member to be a part of a Community Group (CG).
So what does this look like at Sojourn? When you are struggling with something in life we encourage you to take the following steps:
If you are in a Community Group …
1. First share with your Community Group leader. You may also want to invite other trusted group members to journey with you. You will be surprised to learn when you share your struggles, others will be able to help you in the same way they have been comforted by God and others.
2. If your CG leaders are not able to help, they are instructed, with your permission, to ask for help from their Group Life Coach, who is more experienced and equipped. At this point, the Coach may get directly involved in offering care or may guide the CG leader through the process of care and counseling.
3. If additional help is needed, then the coach may ask an elder for assistance.
If you are NOT in a Community Group …
1. Request to get into a Community Group through the on-line sign up form.
2. After completing the CG form, go to the Sojourn Counseling website and fill out the Counseling Request Form.
3. We will review your Counseling Request Form and connect you with a hand-selected CG where you will receive the immediate benefits of living life in gospel community.
4. Once you plug into the CG, you will be asked to connect with the assigned ministry leader to help you with your particular life struggle.