Just recently I experienced a situation that made me realize the importance of right relationships. A lot of times when we think about relationships, we think about a romantic relationship. It is not until you consider the definition of what a relationship is that you are truly able to understand that in spite of your marital status, most people are involved in several relationships in their lifetime. For instance, if you have people you consider to be friends then you have relationships with them because you are connected to them. Truth be told, you have a relationship with your employer, the phone company, the cable company, I could go on and on. The point is, as long as you are connected, a relationship will always exist. I am not going to talk about having a relationship with the phone company, although it is important to stay on the up and up with them, because you and I both know that if you do not then you probably won’t have a phone. What I would like to talk about however is the importance of right relationships.
Some people are very outgoing and others such as myself tend to be a little more of an introvert. Whatever personality type you have, everyone desires to have friends. People who would make your life different if they did not exist. People who know you, but choose to love you anyway. Individuals who are there for you no matter what and who you can trust and depend on. Those are just a few of the concepts that define what I consider to be a true friend. This is also what I think of in regards to what it means to be in a right relationship.
Now all of this sounds good in theory, but my questions is this, how do we know when a person we are in a relationship with is truly a friend? We meet new people everyday and obviously some you connect with better than others. To answer the question however, I’d say that you really do not know. You just have to take a chance. It is tough as a parent however, because in most cases when you are friends with someone your family meets that person which means now more people are connected and have that relationship. The dangerous part is when you take that chance only to find out that person was never really a friend in the first place. Stuff happens, I get that and although it hurts, you are able to move on with your life. The most unfortunate part however is that now your children, who are completely innocent, have formed a bond with them and you have to explain to them why that person is no longer apart of your family’s life. This has been a real wake up call for me and I want each and every one of you to learn from my mistake. So please allow me to change my answer a bit from before. I still think we have to take a chance when we meet people, but we are to acknowledge God in all things and this includes whom you should be connected to. We must pray and ask God. I believe that if we do this, it will prevent us from a lot of heartache.
I will be the first to say it is tough to find not just people who are trying to live right, but in my case married people. My husband and I desire to find other couples who are headed in the same direction we are both spiritually and mentally but we must relinquish our desire to the will of our Father and trust His timing. Often times we get so caught up in what we want, then get excited when we think it has come. Never allowing our Heavenly Father to show us who’s who and what’s what. Instead of getting excited, we have to keep a sound mind. What I’ve learned is that satan will send us a knock off or fake version of whatever it is we are asking God for to distract us from the real thing. He knows that when God answers prayer, it is going to draw us even closer in our relationship to God and it is going to push the devil further back into hell, where he belongs.
In spite of the hardships of life and understanding the ins and outs of relationships, there is good news. I am a friend of God, and so are you. He is the best friend we could ever have. You never have to worry about Him walking away from you, turning His back on you or hurting you in any way. No greater love than to lay down your life for a friend. That’s exactly what our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ did. Please be mindful of your relationships. Pray and ask God who is supposed to be in your life, when they are supposed to be in your life and for how long. That’s the answer, simply put. Take a chance, but above all seek God. #iDeclare #theimportanceofrightrelationships
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank you for calling me friend. I need you to please help me understand the importance of right relationships. I have complete understanding of what a relationship is, so please God help me to discern who is my true friend and who is not. As I meet people, help me to know why I’ve been connected to them and for how long. I decree and declare that I will not be thrown off by knock offs, but I will know the real thing when I see it. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Scripture Reference:
James 2:23 ESV “and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.”
John 15:13-15 KJV “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you. From now on I call you not servants; for the servant knows not what his lord does: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known to you.”
Nicole L. Ross ~ letstalkaboutlife365 