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Proximity Matters

“Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.”
Proverbs 13:20 NIV

It makes sense, doesn’t it? If you surround yourself with people making terrible decisions, it won’t be long before you start acting like them. Or you might be blamed for another’s poor decisions simply by association. You will inevitably “suffer harm.”

We always want to love those who are far from God, but there’s a difference between loving someone and joining them. Instead, if you walk with the wise—watching, asking, learning, mimicking—you will also become wise in the process.

So what kind of person do you want to be? And who in your life would you call wise? Maybe it’s a parent, grandparent, pastor, or teacher. Maybe it’s your neighbor, coach, or someone else you admire for all the right reasons.

Whether it’s intentional or not, we are all being discipled by someone. So if you want to walk with the wise, proximity matters.

Meet them for coffee or lunch. Join them on a walk. Invite them into your home. Learn from their experiences. Read the Bible with them. Ask them face-to-face questions.

Like Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise knowledge and insight.”

Turns out, God is the wisest mentor of all. So talk to Him throughout your day, learn from Him by reading Scripture, and spend time with others who long to be more like Him.

Pray if you want anything to be better and trust God listens and loves you.

The Source of Comfort

When you find yourself in pain, it’s natural to seek comfort. Everyone wants the agony of injury, illness, or heartbreak to disappear as quickly as possible.

If you touch a hot stove, you might grab a ice for your burn. If you get caught in a rainstorm, you might immediately look for shelter. If you experience the loss of someone you love, you might do whatever you can to distract yourself from grief.

We can also seek things like food, shopping, work, drugs, alcohol, technology, or entertainment as mind-numbing agents to attempt to ease our suffering.

But only one God can truly bring us comfort:

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NLT

When Paul and Timothy use the word “comfort,” they’re describing a God who comforts, consoles, encourages, helps, strengthens, instructs, and refreshes. That’s the God He was to Paul and Timothy, and that’s the God He still is.

No matter how bad things get, God can comfort you in a way that no one else can. You can lean on Him.

And because God’s Spirit is within His people, His people can also comfort others. He works in them and through them to offer a hope that’s beyond any present or future pain.

Are you hurting physically, mentally, or emotionally? There’s a God who cares. There are people who want to help. So cry out to the source of all comfort. You can trust Him with your pain.