Don’t Run Away From Friction

I think we forget sometimes that people are people – imperfect and flawed. We all are. It’s easy to run to judgement, or if it’s our personality, run away from conflict. But that’s the point, we’re all different. And the different in someone else is not necessarily bad. Sometimes God will put us together with someone very different from us to see how we will treat them. I believe that, because I believe His word: As iron sharpens iron,
So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend
. (Proverbs 27:17)

What does it mean to sharpen the countenance of a friend? I think it means to make the friend more beautiful. They knock off flaws in you as you knock off flaws in them. But the process of doing that may not be pleasant. We may need to extend grace and forgiveness. We may need to receive grace and forgiveness. It might allow God to uncover areas in our life that we’ve held onto that we need to let go of. Our friends see us in a way that we can’t see ourselves because we’re pretty good at justifying our behavior sometimes.

If you feel stuck in a relationship with a friend that you want to get out of, ask yourself why? Why does that person rub you the wrong way? Ask God to show you. Ask Him to show you what you should repent of. Ask Him to help you love that person and see them the way God does. In the end, you may have found the best friend you ever had.

2 thoughts on “Don’t Run Away From Friction

  1. Janice K Bates

    Thank you Diana
    As you know this is a tough one for me. Sometimes I have even walked away from the friendship, as you have seen, but somehow I always come back. Not even sure why.
    Maybe God is working on my forgiveness.
    Thanks for your help and love.

    Reply

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