Day Ten // Reading: Philippians 2:13

Devotional

“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”

— PHILIPPIANS 2:13, NLT

We are talking about the fact that what others say about you doesn’t determine your worth. But let’s look inward for a minute—because many times, the kind of person you are is the kind of person you will attract in life. Now, this isn’t always the case. We all know that we can’t silence all the haters. Sometimes we don’t even do a single thing wrong, and still, people just don’t like us.

We can’t change them, but we can ask God to help transform us. For every believer, God promises that He is working on the inside of us. We can ask Him to work on our character to be the kind of person He wants us to attract.

• If you want to have friendships that encourage you in your faith, ask God to help you be that faith-filled person.
• If you want friends who have a personal, intimate relationship with God, develop your intimacy with God through prayer and reading the Bible consistently.
• If you want friendships that are encouraging, ask God to help guard your mouth to speak well of others.
• If you want friendships that have integrity (doing the right thing when nobody's watching), ask God to help you make the right choices both publicly and privately.
• If you want friends who dream big dreams with God and act as if nothing is impossible with Him, you dream with God first.
• If you want friends who don’t gossip behind your back, you do the same.
• If you want a friend who is quick to forgive and cover offenses in love, ask God to help you extend forgiveness readily.
• If you want a friend you can have fun with, make fun a priority in life.
• If you want a friend whose identity isn’t based on you, then ask God to help you base your identity on Him first.

Many times, you attract who you are, so having great friendships starts with you. Ask God to shape your character behind the scenes to be a good friend to others. Be moldable on the journey.

Prayer: God, would you help me to be a great friend to others? Help me to be the same person in private as I am in front of people, and to be the God-loving kind of person I want to attract.

Question: What type of friends do I want in my life?