Refining Friends

Have you ever taken one of those color personality tests? After getting to know you a bit through several questions your answers reveal which color you most resemble. Yellow was always described as an easy going, fun loving, life of the party type of personality. The type that was always thought of to make the funnest friends.

We would like to surround ourselves with this type of friend, but the truth is, we would never grow up if that were the case. We would never develope the characteristics that God intended for us through the experiences that refine us. We need, no matter how hard it may be, refining friends.

These are the type of friends that bring out the characteristics that we most need to work on like patience, love, endurance and grace. Often it’s our closesest relationships that spotlight our short coming in these areas.

Think about your relationship with your spouse, children or close family members. They know the most about you and they are the ones who usually push your buttons in ways that nobody else can.

Now remember that God placed you exactly where you are, gave you those family members and has a very good reason for it. They are gifts to help refine you into becoming all that God has created you for. If it helps, God placed you in those relationships to do the same for them.

The writer of Proverbs understood and wrote, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Rather than dreading the refining we can choose to thank God for those moments remembering that while refining often hurts, the outcome will far exceed the pain.

Be Intentional about submitting to God’s refining

Praises & Prayers

Father, thank you for surrounding us with refining friends. You have done this for our own good and I pray that we will submit to the refining. Help us to also bring out the best in others. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Messages from His Word

Proverbs 27:17

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another