Shaped
We are all being shaped by something. Have you ever heard the saying you are who you hang out with? Whether intentional or not, you and I are being shaped by the things we surround ourselves with. If we aren’t aware and intentional about who we spend the majority of our time with it’s easy to pick up bad habits. I remember in college some of my friends asking me “why do you hang out with certain people?” My desire in spending time with people that were not behaving as Christ commands was in the hopes to encourage them and maybe share Jesus with them. The only problem was I grew apart from my friends that were grounded in the truth and closer to the ones that were not. I began to pick up their habits and lifestyle rather than the influencing the lifestyle of Jesus. Before I knew it, I was in a place I never imagined I would be. Doing the things I was taught that were not good and deep down I knew weren’t right. It took a life change and my true friends to bring all the above to my attention. That’s when I began to realize, that while I had the best intentions, it was never God’s intention for us to try to do it on our own. In the writings of the New Testament when Paul was travelling, he always had at least one friend with him. Very rarely were any of the disciples alone. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!” God did not create us to be alone, but rather to have fellowship with each other. To guard our hearts against the things of this world while also reaching out to the world to share the gospel. We can also look at David. You probably have heard of him from the story of David and Goliath. Well David had a friend named Jonathan and they lived a lot of life together. I have to believe that is some of the most influential people in the bible needed community that we do to. I’m learning it’s ok and in fact we should have a person or group of friends that challenge us and keep us accountable for our choices. God gives us the freedom to choose, yet what we choose can greatly impact how our life plays out. Who do you hang out with? Who influences and shapes you? One thing I ask myself is, do the people I’m around challenge me to have a stronger walk with the Lord. I think we all want to improve. Let’s take time this week to be intentional on planning out whose lives we want to help shape and how we want to be shaped in 2021.
Heavenly Father, we love you so much. I ask you to cause us to pause this week and evaluate how we spend our time. Lord help us to eliminate the areas in our lives that aren’t glorifying to you. Lord, we pray for clarity and complete surrender. Transform us to be more like you. Amen