Come with Me

Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory . . .” Judges 4:8-9

When life fell apart due to my addiction, I felt profoundly alone, having alienated almost everyone around me. As I went off to treatment, I was thankful for a dear friend who drove me, but still, he had to drop me off as I walked through those doors . . . alone. When I got out of treatment, I had some faithful brothers who helped me carry the burdens of life. Still, when I had to stand before the state medical board and the DEA, I couldn’t take my buddies with me. I had to once again walk through those doors, facing those anxiety-inducing situations . . . alone.

I wasn’t truly alone though. In treatment, I began to invest every day in my relationship with God. God is a person, and as such, I can know him a little or a lot. As I invested daily in that relationship, it became far more tangible, and I began to understand that I went nowhere alone. The state medical board may have been able to demand that I stand before them, but they couldn’t stop my heavenly father from standing with me. It was in the most anxiety-inducing situations of my life that I began to rely on my relationship with God, who never leaves me.

This seems to be the relationship that Barak lacked in today’s passage. In the story, God’s people once again rebelled against him and so, God once again allowed them to be conquered. In their distress, God’s people cried out to him, and this time, he raised up Deborah to deliver them. Deborah summoned Barak, the leader of Israel’s army, informing him of God’s will that he lead his army against their enemies. Barak should have trusted in God’s presence alone, but he demanded that Deborah accompany him, insisting that he would go only if she came with.

It’s not wrong for us to desire community. We’re meant to carry each other’s burdens. There are, however, life situations which we must face alone. We don’t truly have to be alone though. In knowing God, we have a heavenly father who will never leave us. Unfortunately, when lonely trials come, we often don’t feel God’s presence because we’ve spent so little time with him. So, if we desire to feel God’s presence in our lives, we must daily invest in our relationship with him. Daily, we must read, pray, talk, and listen. As we grow our relationship, we will recognize that we are never truly alone.