Frequently, we need people to stop and explain the events we just experienced.  We need a medical expert to take tests and tell us what happened inside our body when we were in that accident.  Each year, I consult a tax expert to evaluate my income and spending to help me understand what is happening with my return.  Many of us tune into some weather station to help us know what is happening outside and what we can expect soon.  We do not have enough knowledge to adequately understand what is going on in every situation.

This is also true for our spiritual life.  Another reason God puts believers into a community of faith is to have fellow believers’ wisdom and insight.  Some of the instruction may come from paid leaders who have years of training and experience.  Other people can guide us because they have the space to see what friends are missing or unwilling to say.  Finally, there is always a need for close relationships who know us well and can see the things to which we have become blind. 

Just because you are experiencing something does not mean that you understand what is happening.  We need people to help clarify where we might be failing or where God might be working.  Our knowledge is too limited to know what is going on spiritually in every situation adequately.  We need people to help us understand ourselves, and they need us to help them.