Awareness of God's plan

I got a sore throat, but thanks to Adrian's prayers, other people's prayers, and careful eating habits (including lots of gentle vitamin C drinks), I am doing alright, it is just uncomfortable.

After I came back from missions, I think I find a bigger need for prayers and God's direction. A bigger need for humility and submission to Him and others. I start to see why certain things happen and how some things are part of God's plan.

First of all, I want to say how grateful I am for God putting Adrian in my life. He reminds me to pray when I forget, reminds me of my need for rest and Sabbaths, and reminds me that life can be fun too. Sometimes I feel like he is more spiritual and more selfless than me.

For me, it's easy to get into an annoyed mood. That's where prayer also comes in, to help calm me down and find out what attitude does God want me to have.

I revisited the verse Proverbs 18:24 in several translations...
(New Living Translation)

²⁴ There are “friends” who destroy each other,
but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.

(The Message)

²⁴ Friends come and friends go,
but a true friend sticks by you like family

(GOD’S WORD Translation)

²⁴Friends can destroy one another,
but a loving friend can stick closer than family.

(Holman Christian Standard Bible)

²⁴ A man with many friends may be harmed,
but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.

Although all these translations have a slightly different take on the verse, I still find all of them to be true in my life and it helps me to accept a situation that I'm in right now. God doesn't intend for us to always be friends with everyone. Even Paul and Barnabas, long-time partners, parted ways, but through that God's Kingdom was continually expanding.

Of course we should try our best to be a kind friend to people we meet, but not every personality fits well together, and when something isn't meant to be, it's just not meant to be. You can't be friends with everyone, although you can try to be kind to everyone, with wisdom of course. Now, being kind though, is subjective unless you read about what kindness is in the Bible. And wisdom needs to be there to protect you from harm. You don't want to be friendly to a thief.