Friends

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. (Proverbs 27:17 NLT)

Most of us have heard this verse, but how many of us have actually allowed this to happen. What I mean is that when a friend confronts us, do we put up our defenses, or do we allow them to speak into our lives? Human nature will want to put up our defenses and say "you don't know what you are talking about" or "no, you are wrong!" Godly nature says, "I'm listening, keep talking." Judging by the previous verses in this chapter, I believe the author of this passage was talking about close friends and not aquaintances. I have a close friend who is definitely not afraid to confront me, and I need that in my life. He has seen things I have done or am doing that I was unaware of. It's kind of like I can't see the forest because of the trees. He, along with a few others, are really the only ones I allow to do this because they know me, they have spent time with me. Of course this goes both ways, they  allow me to speak into their lives as well, it is definitely a 2-way street. We need each other, we need close friends in our lives. If we don't have friends, we are tieing God's hands. You may be one that is a "loner" who says I don't need anyone as long as I got myself. Well, there is no place in scripture that says this, in fact there is plenty of scripture that says we need each other. God uses our friends to minister to us and vice versa! Allow God to cross your path with people whom He wants you to develop a relationship with.

Take Away: if you lack close friends in your life, ask God to start bringing people into your life. If you ask, He will do it!