Thursday Reading: Proverbs 27:9-10
Key Verse: Proverbs 27:9
9 Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel.
Devotion:
Isn’t it amazing how a smell can change the whole way that you feel; there are some smells that will bring back fantastic memories or make you feel really great and yet others that may well remind you of times that are not so good. Have you noticed that even those smells that remind you of bad times will not bring you down but give you hope that things have changed and things are better? Smells tend to bring good memories or they tend to lift you up. There is nothing quite like the fresh smell you get on a bright spring morning or the smell of a bunch of flowers.
Those are the same types of feelings that we get from certain close friends in our lives as well. There are some people in our lives that will always make you feel at ease or always make you feel on top of the world. There are others that will always calm you down and some that you just want to be with because you feel so right at home with them always. These are the feelings that God has given us to make our lives so much better than just a plain existence. With God in our lives we have so much more to look forward to as well.
We should always strive to keep those friendships strong and true. We should not do things that will break them down because if we do then we are going to end up hurting ourselves and the other people. But it is not just the fact that we will hurt them that should concern us but the fact that we eat at our souls – deep inside us where our Lord is the one that directs our feelings that we cannot explain in our human terms.
God has planted in us a love that is true and that needs to be exercised. That love comes out when we do smell the sweet savour of good friendships and those that we care about. That is what makes life so good and so worth living – knowing the love that God has given to us and shown us personally as well.
Points to Ponder:
What is your favourite smell?
What do you most like about God?