You're Not Alone
Daily Scripture
Acts 2:42-47
42 The believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the community, to their shared meals, and to their prayers. 43 A sense of awe came over everyone. God performed many wonders and signs through the apostles. 44 All the believers were united and shared everything. 45 They would sell pieces of property and possessions and distribute the proceeds to everyone who needed them. 46 Every day, they met together in the temple and ate in their homes. They shared food with gladness and simplicity. 47 They praised God and demonstrated God’s goodness to everyone. The Lord added daily to the community those who were being saved.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Note: This week’s GPS draws on lyrics from two of the most popular songs from Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters, “Golden” and “What It Sounds Like”.
Song Lyrics:
We’re shattering the silence, we’re rising, defiant
Shouting in the quiet, “You’re not alone”
We listened to the demons, we let them get between us
But none of us are out here on our own
So we were cowards, so we were liars
So we’re not heroes, we’re still survivors
The dreamers, the fighters, no lying, I’m tired
But dive in the fire, and I’ll be right here by your side*
We can talk ourselves into believing we’re fine when we’re actually just tired of asking for help. That’s the real fear under most of our hardest weeks… not that something is wrong, but that admitting it means someone finds out we couldn’t carry it alone. Today’s song lyrics speak directly into that fear, insisting none of us are really on our own, that whatever fire we’re walking into, we’re diving into it together. The earliest Christians built their entire life around that same conviction. Luke describes a community that shared meals, shared resources, and showed up for each other daily, not as a nice idea but as the actual shape of what it meant to follow Jesus. Nobody in that community was carrying anything entirely by themselves.
- Today’s song lyrics insist none of us are on our own, even when the fire feels like ours alone to walk through. Where am I choosing to face a struggle by myself instead of allowing others to support me? Are there areas in my life where I might be resisting the help, encouragement, or accountability that God may be offering through others?
- The early church didn’t just believe in community, ; they ate together, shared what they had, and showed up daily. Who could I trust enough this week to share what I’m really carrying? What is one step I can take this week to let someone walk alongside me instead of simply believing I should?
Prayer
God who dwells among your people, thank you that you never intended for me to carry hard things by myself. Show me who you’ve placed nearby to walk with, and give me the courage to actually let them in today. Amen.
GPS Insights
Darren Lippe
Today’s passage describes the gold-standard of Christian communities. While there are so many traits of this congregation that are captivating, one characteristic led me to “visit” with communication specialist Emily Mayle of the H.E.E.D. Institute.
DL: Emily, tell us about your institute.
E. Mayle: Absolutely. The H.E.E.D. institute (Hear, Empathize, Engage, & Discern) was established in 1994 to first evaluate how attentiveness (or lack thereof) impacts listening & then to develop tools to improve our client’s communication skills.
DL: Is attentiveness a problem?
E. Mayle: Definitely. Think of the husband who is listening to his wife talk & says to himself, “Who starts a conversation with, “So, which one?” Or the wife, who is distractedly on her phone during the first 20 minutes of the movie, & asks, “Is the guy in all-black a good guy or a bad guy?” The husband puzzledly replies, “Um. That’s Batman.” Or we’ve all be on that Zoom call when someone is asked for their input & they stare wide-eyed at their monitor & ask, “Can you repeat the question?”
Attention spans among all ages are getting worse. Research has shown that 20-years ago we could focus on a task for 2-3 minutes. Today it is under 1-minute before we “check an email” or “look up a bit of trivia” or “remember something for our to-do list.”
DL: You had mentioned that the congregation described by Luke is almost idyllic. How so?
E. Mayle: Everyone is fully engaged with one another. You can just imagine the intense buzz of conversations as everyone eagerly comes together to break bread & excitedly share about their day as a follower of Christ. These believers were probably strangers a few weeks ago speaking different dialects, different occupations, & with very different economic backgrounds. Then at some point, Luke writes, they “had all things in common.” Because this little band of believers had the same Savior, they began to share the same hope & the same purpose. I get goosebumps thinking of the widow slowly telling he life story as a young man attentively listens, or the young girl telling a round-a-bout story of helping a neighbor fix a broken cart wheel to a group of old codgers, or group of young people laughing at a joke that’s been told a dozen times. No wonder they all came together with “glad & generous hearts.”
DL: So, how might we capture (or re-capture) this same feeling of connectedness?
E. Mayle: First, recognize that the most valuable gift or asset we can give anyone is this: Our Attention. When someone speaks, look at them, ask questions, & really, really listen. We’ve become so accustomed to distracted communications that we’ve forgotten the rush that occurs when someone actually listens to us speak.
Secondly, quit pretending you are some incredible multi-tasker. You aren’t. Do one thing at a time. You’ll be astonished how being a single-tasker becomes like a super-power.
Finally, let yourself be bored. Go for a walk without any electronic devices. Sit down for a nice meal without taking a picture of it first. Pick out a book you’ve always wanted to read & sit down & read a chapter straight through. Whether we know it or not, we all have the “Need to Heed.”
DL: Thanks so much for your input. These ideas can also be applied to our faith walk as well. Imagine losing your sense of time as you immerse yourself in one of the Bible’s great stories, or spending time praying & listening to God without any mental interruptions, or being fully engaged in a small group Bible discussion where each members’ priority is simply growing closer to God. I, for one, will definitely try to improve my attentiveness & use some of the tips you suggested.
E. Mayle: Excellent! Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to pack for my trip to Austria.
DL: Safe travels & put a “shrimp on the barbie” for me!
E. Mayle: Um. That’s Australia not Austria.
DL: Hmm…I may have more work to do than I thought.
Editor: For those readers unfamiliar with Darren’s writing “style,” the H.E.E.D. Institute & Emily Mayle are all imaginary.
© 2026 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* “What It Sounds Like,” performed by Huntr/x (EJAE, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami), from KPop Demon Hunters (Sony Pictures Animation / Netflix, 2025). Written by Jenna Andrews and Stephen Kirk. Soundtrack released by Republic Records.
