Here are two more things we need to be aware of: 1) The wrong people will hurt us. We shouldn’t allow people who could drag us away from God’s path to influence us. People who are very negative, draining, distracting, or try to belittle us can wear us down and turn us away from God’s call. We should love these types of people, and try to help them if we can, but we mustn’t allow them to influence us or lead us. It’s right to try to encourage them, but if we feel their attitudes begin to pull us down instead of lifting us up, we should kindly and graciously disconnect from them and hand them to God. 2) The right people will help us. When God has a job to be done, He calls someone to do it. But He rarely calls them alone. He’ll often call others to stand with them and support them. When we reach for help, it isn’t a sign of weakness, but of strength, and acceptance of God’s plan. Paul spent an entire chapter in the New Testament acknowledging the people who helped him fulfil his vision. Here’s what he said to the Philippians: ‘Every time I think of you, I give thanks…Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now’ (Philippians 1:3-5 NLT). We need to have the humility to acknowledge that God hasn’t given us the skills to do some things, hand them over to others who do have those skills, and focus on using our own skills and strengths to play our unique part in God’s plan.

What Now?

On today’s walk with your friend, think about the influential people in your lives. Are they encouragers or do any of them pull you down? Ask God to show you clearly which relationships should be grown, and which ones you may need to take a step back from.