^9-10 It’s better to have a partner than go it alone.
Share the work, share the wealth.
And if one falls down, the other helps,
But if there’s no one to help, tough!

¹¹ Two in a bed warm each other.
Alone, you shiver all night.

¹² By yourself you’re unprotected.
With a friend you can face the worst.
Can you round up a third?
A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (The Message)

I love the verse “With a friend you can face the worst” (Ecclesiastes 4:12). We are not meant to do life alone. Often times when life becomes difficult, when we become mad or sad, we draw away to be by ourselves. We shut the door on life and on people but what we should be doing is opening up to the people who we call our covenant friends and face “the worst” together.

A covenant friend is someone you have a close bond with. It doesn’t mean that we are going to do everything together, but we are going to really know each other. We are building intimacy together, trust, a safe haven and doing life like a family.

Sometimes it is hard to open up and to admit to somebody else that you have needs and that you are facing “the worst”; that you have a need for somebody to listen to you, to give you advice and direction and to walk with you through tough emotions and circumstances. It is hard to open up because you think to yourself are my needs too big for you and will my needs be met? If I have needs are you going to pull away from me because now I am in a needy season and that is too much for you to handle.

Sharing with someone will not necessarily fix the problem you are facing but it will open you up and allow you to be vulnerable and let people in to see the real you. It will help to lift the burden you feel and help you to realise that you are not alone.

If we want to have safe covenant relationships we have to be that person first. You need to be the safe person that when your friend shares with you they know that you are not going to break their confidence. They know that you will walk through the good times and the bad times with them and that you will not abandon them when things get tough.

¹² By yourself you’re unprotected.
With a friend you can face the worst.
Can you round up a third?
A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped.

I encourage you to build a strong community around you. Find your people, your tribe your covenant friends. People with whom you can take a risk with, be vulnerable with and do life with. Be that friend for others that you wish you had.