Who’s your buddy?

Good morning, everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Live long, live well”

Our Bible verse for today: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Who’s your buddy?”

We live in a society today that is not conducive to staying healthy – physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually. For one thing, food is everywhere and much of it is bad for us. Through manipulative advertising and subliminal messaging, we are conditioned to overeat. We are also set up for inactivity. Machines and computers and service industry people do many of our tasks and much of our labor for us. Also, much of our entertainment is sedate and inactive (television, video games).

Ours is also a mentally and emotionally unhealthy society. We have a larger percentage of our population suffering from depression, insomnia, and other lifestyle related mental health issues than almost any other developed nation in the world. We also have a larger percentage of people taking prescription medication to deal with their depression and anxiety. And we are becoming increasingly unhealthy spiritually. Church attendance is at an all-time low and there is great spiritual confusion in our land.

So, how do we stay healthy? We must be very intentional about it and we must help each other. In Isaiah 41:10 God made a promise that He will be with us and that He will be the one to help us and strengthen us. But in what ways does He do that? First, He does it one-on-one in our inner person. Deep inside He gives us renewed determination and a strong sense of encouragement. But that’s not all. In addition to His one-on-one work in our lives, God does some of His best work by using other Christians to help us.

God will use us to help each other stay healthy physically, mentally/emotionally, and spiritually. Physically, we do that by having one or more workout buddies who will help us stay motivated and on track. Emotionally, we need Christian friends who we can confide in and who will help to talk us through our mental and emotional struggles. And spiritually we need to be practicing our faith along with other Christians through Bible study and prayer groups, Sunday school classes, and corporate worship services.

God will be your source of help and strength, but very often He will provide that help and strength by bringing other Christians into your life to be your buddies. Are you surrounding yourself with others who will help you, or are you trying to go it alone?

I ask you this morning, “Who’s your buddy? Who are you relying on to help you live your best life?”

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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