My Discipleship Group Is Awesome

My Discipleship Group is Awesome

Proverbs 26:6,9 (ESV)

⁶ Faithful are the wounds of a friend;    profuse are the kisses of an enemy.⁹ Oil and perfume make the heart glad,    and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.

Let me just take a moment to brag about the ladies in my discipleship group. We have several groups here at the Well that are going through a discipleship book together. The whole book is centered on the command that “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matt 22:37) The book breaks down this verse and explores what that looks like. 

It has been a complete blessing to go through the material with my group. It has not been without challenge as schedules, responsibilities, life changes and seasons, children, sickness, relationships, and being downright tired after a long day of work have all contributed to some difficulty and frustrations. The shear amount of stuff that happens before we meet does not seem like a coincidence to me though. We have an enemy out there that wants to keep us from pursuing God and seeks to destroy us by any…means…possible. Knowing this helps me in the midst of frustration and to be honest, sometimes even disappointment. 

The greater reward of knowing Jesus more through this process is only sweetened by having a supportive group of friends to explore the things of His Kingdom and this life together. Since the beginning, we all expressed that we wanted to be more committed to seeking God and wanted to explore what that looks like for all of us individually. When we get together, we share our lives and encourage one another and more importantly we tell each other what needs to be told. I value this more than gold. I would much rather experience this momentary sting from a friend I trust than to deal with the much bigger consequences or hardships that come with being outside for God’s will for me. Earnest counsel is sometimes hard to swallow but so incredibly sweet. 

If you are in a discipleship group I encourage you to keep pressing in despite the difficulties I know we all experience. And if you aren’t in a group, I encourage you to join one when we start another session. God bless you church. I love you and Merry Christmas!

- Natalie