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

It is a well-known fact that whoever speaks into your life determines how you will move forward. Everyone connected to you is not called to travel with you on your road to destiny.

Have you placed people around you that will strengthen you, challenge you, and motivate you? Or have you only “yes-men” in your corner? Make it a point to surround yourself with others that will help keep you moving. Take inventory today of those in your circle; is it time to make  changes?

Lord, teach us how to choose wisely the people we allow close to us. Help us not to judge by sight of our eyes, by hearing of our ears, but with Godly wisdom as we connect with others. You have a set place for us and along that path You have predestined the relationships that are valuable in every area of our lives. Thank you for being concerned about each detail that concerns us in Jesus’ name, Amen.

By Mary Pinckney
used by permission

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The post Pause and Think… appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.” Psalm 51:12

Over 60 years ago, a leading soft drink company coined the phrase “the pause that refreshes.”  Whenever those words were said or sung, people’s minds immediately turned to the product as an example of how to take time out, how to slow down and enjoy the moment.

In describing the religious life of one of his characters, author Charles O’Brien writes, “During the day, Mrs. G. takes short pauses, becomes very still, as if asking God for direction, or sharing a problem with Him.” Truly a pause that refreshed.

In our modern world  “far busier than the world of more than a half century ago” we need such pauses. Time to stop the whirlwind of activity, to center our minds on the only one who truly gives new life. Time also to give us insight and wisdom for the choices that lie before us.

One dictionary defines refresh this way: to restore to a certain condition by providing a fresh supply of something. King David had grieved a loving God with the horrible sins of adultery and murder; he deliberately stepped outside the joy that God wants to gladly give his children. David not only admits his guilt but pleads with God to again fill him with the joy he once knew.

If David had only paused before any one of the actions that led to sin, if he had only asked God to resupply what he formerly experienced, or asked God for direction, how different his story might have been.

Father, it is so easy to keep active, to somehow believe that activity equals relationships with you. Forgive us for ignoring your call to refreshment. In Jesus name, amen.

by Marilyn Ehle
Used by Permission

Further Reading

•  We Plan – God Directs

•  Spiritual Oxygen: Are You Getting Enough?

•  Salvation Explained

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The post The Pause that Refreshes appeared first on Thoughts About God.