We need people in our lives to spur us on, to challenge and encourage us to improve in every area of our lives. There are no "Lone Rangers" in the real world and every true "self-made man" is a small man.
One of the "sharpeners" that God has brought into my life has put it this way:
" You are where you are today because you
stand on somebody's shoulders.
And wherever you are heading...
you cannot get there by yourself.
Nobody does.
I didn't.
But...
If you stand on the shoulders of others,
you have a reciprocal responsibility to live your life
so that others may stand on your shoulders.
It's the quid pro quo of life.
We exist temporarily through what we take,
but we live forever through what we give.
Give 100% of yourself to your clients and people who need you...
If you do, then you will succeed and thrive"
John DeFendis
We need people in our lives who challenge us in at least three areas: spiritually, physically, and mentally. Everyone needs a fitness training partner or trainer. We all need someone to spur us on spiritually. We also need people in our lives to challenge our thinking.
Who is sharpening you?
The Lord is sharpening us (and me) everyday and he rewards us with everyday blessings when we honor him and do the right thing, with the beautiful necessities of life (good health, food, a home, a car and often times, success), while at the same time he will Challenge us with Adversity when we take his Blessings for granted and do not follow the path he leads us on.
ReplyDeleteI always thought I could sharpen myself...I remember growing up in Long Island and every evening around spring and summer time you would hear bells ringing outside and we always ran thinking it was the ice cream truck but it was the truck that sharpened your knives, garden tools, basically you name it. What I realize now is that God always shows up to offer us a sharpening and we may be bummed out that it may not be what we want but God knows what is best for us and sharpening ourselves in the spiritual realm makes us ready when an attack comes. So when you hear the bells...dont be disapointed that it may not be ice cream but is a life changing transformation to build us up!
ReplyDeleteAdversity may not be in our lives as a result of disobedience, wayward ways or simply taking things for granted. God's Holy Word reveals that men and women through the ages have left a legacy behind because they perservered in adversity and were found faithful as does history since The Word was written. Jim Elliott, Joni Erickson Tada and missionaries I have served shoulder to shoulder with all come to mind as well as many others.
ReplyDeleteAdversity is a blessing in that it brings us in a position of total dependence on Father God so that He can reveal Himself in and through the life of the believer. Adversity will challenge; adversity is not chastisement. Being physically handicapped has always added the riches of His Glory in my life. I have never perceived it as chastisement for some wrongdoing. Just as a physical handicap can reflect visual evidence of an all-knowing, all-powerful, totally-sovereign and totally-complete love from Father God, so does adversity in any other form He so choses.
When life is dotted with mentors, iron sharpens iron and we are progressively strengthened. When life is pockmarked with tormentors, the branding iron burns a broken tale of scars that weaken us until we have been touched by the hands of Jehovah Rapha.
ReplyDeleteSadly, the evidence of mentors in our lives is much more of a rare finding than the evidence of tormentors, is it not?