Joy: 37-Day DevotionalSample

Iron - hard, strong, tough
Sharp - pointy, able to stab/cut 

These words don’t exactly scream “Christian”… or do they? It makes me think of a saying I heard years ago: if you place an egg and a potato into a pan of boiling water, the egg will turn hard while the potato becomes soft. And isn’t that how life works? Situations can make us hard or soft, but as Christians we are called to be like Jesus. 

How?

Iron sharpens iron. God knows that we crave friendships: to feel loved and understood. In His wisdom He gave us this verse, this challenge, to help each other grow. I have many friends who push me to be better. One friend shares my name and our fierce love for Jesus. The two Sarahs are aka “Soul Sisters”. Do you remember the egg and potato? At the beginning of our friendship, I was the hard egg and she was the soft potato. I was hard, too hard, in my beliefs and attitude. She was soft, pushover soft.

But Jesus....

While Jesus knew that together with Him, we could mold and sharpen each other to be better.
And boy have we! I am softer while she is stronger. We are helping each other grow in to who God calls us to be. We have a long way to go, but doesn’t everyone? God knows we are stronger together! He wants us to encourage and strengthen each other.

You will have good days and bad days. You will have some boiling water moments.
Will you come out hard or soft? Or maybe, you will have a friend who pushes you to seek Jesus in the joyful times and the seasons of sorrow. In return, you will come out stronger in your faith, hard enough to fight life’s battles, yet soft enough to be kind to others, show grace, AND to love like Jesus!

Father, help us find our very own soul sisters to sharpen each other and grow our love and passion for You. Help us be warriors for You! We love You... Always... Amen