Do You Need To Feel Spurred On?

Do you have precious friends who understand the true meaning of friendship? I don’t mean the “let’s get together and gossip about other people” type of friends. I mean the type of friends who don’t have gossip as part of their makeup. These are the type of friends who will help you out on moving day or bring you dinner when you are sick. They will get out of bed at 5am to meet for prayer because that’s the only time that works for your schedule. They will encourage you when you are broken.

Friends like these have an internal radar to sense when someone needs encouragement. That radar is called the Holy Spirit. The body of Christ beautifully goes to work to “carry each other’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2). Encouraging. Praying. Sharing God’s truth for a hard situation. Helping to shift a perspective. Having fun and laughing at life because sometimes laughter really is the best medicine. 

The truth is—God doesn’t need us. He wants us. But we do need each other. God planned it that way when he instructed us to “consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds…encouraging one another” (Hebrews 10:24). He created the body of Christ to be there in the flesh for strength, comfort, accountability, and even just shared joy. There is a kinship in Christ that cannot be explained to an unbeliever. I am so grateful for these people in my life. I leave their presence feeling energized in my walk with the Lord, “spurred on,” just as the Scripture says. 

Do you have these types of friends in your life? I hope so. Many of my closest friendships have developed through a shared struggle or blossomed from a small effort I made to encourage someone, or someone else encouraging me. If you need encouragement, look for people in your life who need encouragement, and encourage them. The encouragement will come back to you. 

Galatians 6:7 says “A man reaps what he sows.” If we sow superficial relationships, we will reap superficial relationships. If we sow love and compassion, we will reap love and compassion from others. Proverbs 11:25 says, “Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” Friendship has a way of nourishing our soul and making us feel refreshed. 

The Christian life is not meant to be a solo sport. Sometimes even our sufferings are not as much about us as they are for the benefit of others. Colossians 1:24 reads, “Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.” 

Wow! Let’s read that again. Nothing is lacking when it comes to what Christ did on the cross. It is finished. Paul is saying that his suffering is less than what Jesus suffered. But He is also saying that his own suffering is for the benefit of the body of Christ. FOR OTHERS. When we suffer and handle it with grace, we are like a walking billboard, advertising the strengthening way God works in the life of a believer who suffers. Others see it and are spurred on to maturity.

I have seen this at work in the lives of others. I have had dear friends who have experienced cancer, lost a child, gone through divorce, experienced chronic health problems, or battled other painful experiences. I have seen these friends receive comfort from God, which they in turn, have been able to share with others who needed comforting. 

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3,4). 

God’s design is beautiful to spur us on. Go hug your friends!

Iron Sharpens Iron

God sends in our lives certain people
To help us to grow and mature,
To help guide in our walk with the Savior,
To encourage our hearts to stay pure.

These friendships in Jesus are special—
Hearts bound by love that He gives;
Peace in His Spirit within us
And shared joy in a Savior who lives.

For we know He called us to be different—
To be light in a world dark and bleak,
To be accountable to one another,
To have boldness to step out and speak.

God knows that we need one another
When everything seems to go wrong,
And when we are part of the body of Christ,
We have others to help us stay strong.

It’s easy to be mediocre,
But that’s not what I want to be.
And my friends sharpen iron with iron,
And turn my gaze so it’s Jesus I see.

I’m so glad God designed the body of Christ
That He knew with compassion to send—
Believers to be an example, a coach,
A mentor, a teacher, a friend.

I pray my friends keep loving Jesus.
And I pray they’ll continue to grow
Because their light reflects Christ’s love to others
And helps me more than they’ll ever know.
c. Bobbie Perkins