A man of God was speaking with a fellow minister in his city. While speaking, the minister said to the man of God; “I’m relocating out of this city. My money is not in this city.” Surprised, the man of God told this minister; “We are not in ministry for money; we are in it for God and for the Kingdom.” That was the end of their relationship.
Friend, you don’t know your true friends until you know your vision in life. Vision decides relationships. Not everybody is going in the same direction as you. Not everyone has the same mindset as you. Not everyone has the same set of values as you. You would need to consider all of these in determining who would go with you in the journey of destiny (2 Corinthians 12:18).
Relationship is not by force; it is by choice. We choose our friends and not the other way round. Everybody is important to God, but not everybody is important to you. Trying to bring everybody into their space is the reason for confusion and frustration in the life of many people today. We don’t choose relationships by sentiment or emotion. We choose by revelation (1 Samuel 23:15-18).
To go fast, go alone. To go far, go with the right people. But to go wrong, go with the wrong people. One of the undoings of Ephraim was his relationship (Hosea 7:8-9). Like Ephraim, you can carry a great destiny, but if you don’t discern and decide your relationship correctly, you would end up messing up the greatness that God has primed for you.
You can be unequally yoked with believers just as you can be unequally yoked with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14). The problem of some Christians is not that they are keeping company with unbelievers, but that they are keeping company with unbelieving believers. It is easier to fall for a wrong counsel from an ungodly believer than it is with an unbeliever (Psalms 1:1-3).
You need to sensitively, intentionally, and intelligently choose your relationships (Acts 4:23). The right relationship for you is one that is feeding your vision, fueling your passion, and fixing your focus. It must help you to make progress in the journey of purpose and destiny. Do you have people like these in your life?
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria