Recognize Your Village

Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing. (I Thessalonians 5:11 NKJV)

Do you ever find yourself focusing on the relationships you wish you had – or wondering if you need more? It’s funny how twisted our perspective can become when our focus is off. We can barely maintain the relationships we have without feeling as if something is out of balance, and yet we feel the need to cultivate more.

This pressure has leaked into the way we serve and love others. Instead of seeing and expressing appreciation for who they are in our life, we use that energy to worry about whoever isn’t there.

Our heart desires intimacy and quality, but we let the worry of our reputation keep us striving. We want all the likes and all the claps and all the friends and all the support, and we basically want our village to not really be a village – we want everyone in it.

But here’s the deal: Jesus had twelve disciples. The only perfect Being did not surround Himself with everybody He could find, nor did He concern Himself with those who rejected Him. He served and loved everyone, yes. But when He was with them? It was enough. His mind didn’t wander. They knew He was grateful for them.

How are we doing with this? Are we appreciating those who show up for us? Has intimacy, discernment, and gratitude directed our way in our relationships? God is the greatest dot connector every. He can place someone in our path in a moment and change their heart in a second. He knows who we need and when we need them. Our role is to appreciate the people He places in our path.

We need to thank our village. Hug them. Speak life into them. Recognize their investment. When we make it our priority to be still so that we can gain awareness of the needs that surround us, we sow hope into the lives of others.

Dear Jesus, thank You for every person You’ve divinely placed into our life. Help us recognize and appreciate them for all they are to us. Thank You for displaying Your goodness and grace in the relationships You place in our paths. We trust You to connect every dot. In Jesus’s name, amen.

This is an excerpt from Be Still by Cleere Cherry - a devotional book released by DaySpring publishing.  Learn more about this book, or shop other books & devotionals from DaySpring.