Imagine that you are leading a small group and a young couple talk about your infertility, share their struggle against envy when others become pregnant, their fear of never becoming pregnant and their fight against bitterness towards God.
Because this couple is suffering, he likes to want to comfort them, so maybe someone in the group will say, “I’m sorry about what you’re going through. “Maybe someone will talk about a couple who became pregnant after a long period. Maybe another member said he’ll pray that they’ll get pregnant and maybe someone will recommend an infertility specialist.
- It is likely that all this comforts the infertile couple and is the kind of encouragement and counsel they need.
- But has this small group ever achieved God’s goal for brotherhood?I don’t think so.
When Paul first visited Thessaloniki, people came to faith and God worked deep love between the Apostle and these new converts, to the point that they broke his heart when he suddenly had to leave the city.
Later, Paul wrote to them and told them his intention to visit them so that they could see each other again, and from this letter, we can learn what the purpose of Christian communion would be. In 1 Thessaloniki 3: 1-10, we see a theme emerge:
When it came to companionship, Paul’s primary goal was to strengthen faith.
Why focus on faith? Paul tells us in verse 5
“Is that why?” Did I send to check the state of your faith, fearing that the tempter would prove you and that our work would become useless?
Paul knew that Satan’s purpose in tempting them was to destroy his faith, because if Satan had accomplished this, they would not have been saved and Paul’s work would have been useless.
No one can be saved and lose their faith (1 John 5:18). I believe that when God saves someone, a good work begins that will continue in heaven (Phil 1:6). Therefore, whoever truly trusts in Christ will persevere. faith to the end and be saved (Jn 10:29-30; Rom 8. 28-30; Jd 1. 24-25).
However, one of the ways God keeps us persevering is by having others encourage our faith (Hebrews 3:12-1. 4). So if there is anyone in my small group that I believe I have faith in, but who is now tempted by Satan to weaken his faith, I understand that his eternity is at stake (James 5:19-20). That is why Paul’s priority was to strengthen faith in Christ.
Imagine you had a horrible car accident and a man lay on the road with his pants broken, his leg broken and spilling blood from a cut to his neck.
It would not be wise to start sewing the pants, not even to place the leg; this man won’t die from broken pants or a broken leg, but he’ll die if you don’t stop the bleeding.
In this accident, it all depends on stopping bleeding and, in communion, stopping bleeding is the first priority before we can take all necessary measures to rehabilitate a believing brother. The lifeboat? We all need it more in the midst of our pain.
Go back to the couple with infertility. My wife and I have been fighting infertility for years, so I understand her sadness, but her struggle against fear, envy and bitterness shows that disbelief is in their hearts, so the goal of this small group must be to strengthen their faith.
The main battle of infertile couples is to trust in Christ, not in pregnancy or in babies, is their fully satisfying treasure and that God will do all that brings him the greatest joy in Christ, whether through pregnancy or not. This couple needs brothers and sisters who, with deep tenderness and compassion and even tears, will help them trust in all that God promises to be to them in Christ.
To do this, the small group will listen humbly as the couple pours out their souls and cries with them, weeping Can they share how close the Lord is to those who have a broken heart?(Salt 34:18). You can read Psalm 40:1-3 and encourage yourself to believe that while you wait for the Lord in prayer, he will put your feet on a rock and fill you with praise.
You can study Romans 8:28-39 to see that, even in this affliction, you can be sure that God loves you and that You do your best to bring you to the greatest joy, which is to contemplate Christ in all his glory. , can you lay your hands on the couple and pray for the work of strengthening the faith of the Spirit?and pray with all the effort that God, in his mercy, will make them pregnant. The purpose of all this is to strengthen faith. of this couple to see and feel that Christ is their fully satisfying treasure, and that he will do everything necessary to bring them to the greatest joy in him.
However, if the small group ignores their faith and only comforts them in the hope of pregnancy, then the small group simply sews broken pants and places a broken bone while the couple continues to bleed. We’d never do that to an accident victim. Let us encourage each other to trust in God when the trials come.
By: Steve Fuller. © Desiring God Foundation. Website: desiringGod. org. Translated with permission. Source: Why is your small group meeting?
Original: Why is your small group gathering?Infertility and strengthening of faith. © Return to the Gospel. Website: voltemosaoevangelho. com All rights are reserved Translation: Camila Rebeca Teixeira Review: Renata do Esperito Santo.