Even as a more introverted person, I can quickly get behind most of the aspects of gathering as believers. But when it comes to needing to be sharpened by others, it’s so easy to want to recoil and shield those parts of myself that need to be sharpened. However, God’s design is that even as the sharpening process isn’t perfectly smooth or easy, as we walk alongside each other in honesty and accountability, we each become better and more like Jesus. No one is perfectly sharpened alone; each requires both God and others to aid in the sharpening process.
What a humbling reality God calls us to walk in, both with Him and with each other. Instead of being able to be sanctified in silos alone with God, He brings us alongside others to share our lives with — both to help along the way and to be witnesses to the process, for our benefit and theirs too. Even when I’m not thankful for it in the moment, I know I’m always thankful for God using others to sharpen me after the fact. Are there people around you that God could want to use to sharpen your faith? Who could God be calling you to come alongside this week?