Understanding Each Other

When I see this picture of my two little girls, it makes me smile. Mostly, because these moments are few and far between. You never know with these two. Maggie and Macey are the best of friends at times and the worst of enemies at other times. One of the things we come back to time and time again with these two, as well as with our older kids is this…You need to be understanding of each other.

When our kids fight, it’s because neither of them is willing to give. They have to learn how to accept the other person for who they are. They also have to figure out who they are and learn to work with that.

Understanding Ourselves

So many of us struggle in relationships because we don’t fully understand ourselves. God gives us helpful insight into this problem in the book of Matthew.

If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and me.

Matthew 10:39 MSG

If my focus is primarily on myself, I’m never going to figure myself out. It seems backwards, but God says, “Focus on me instead. Get to know me.” When you focus on God, you will actually find both yourself and God.

The clearer we see God, the clearer we see ourselves. God says he made us in his very image. So it would make sense that the closer we get to God and understanding him, the closer we get to understanding how he made us. Only then, can we begin to understand other people.

Understanding God

How do you get close to God? How can we begin to understand him?

5 Ways to Get Close to God

1. Start every day by spending time with him. I do this through my morning time routine. 
2. Listen to uplifting, encouraging Christian music. Make a list on Spotify of your favorite worship songs. Then listen to them throughout your day. Listening to Godly music can bring a sense of peace and a realization of God’s goodness into our daily routine. 
3. Be in church on Sundays. I know we can worship from home, and we’ve all had to do it because of covid. But if you can, try to be in church on Sundays. What you can’t get at home is the time of worship music and the fellowship with other believers. 
4. Read encouraging and uplifting books that will help you to draw closer to God. I do this as a part of my morning time routine. You can find a list of books I recommend here. 
5. Spend time with other believers who will encourage you in your faith. You can do this by joining or starting a small group. Or just find a friend or two who can encourage you in your faith and meet up with them once a week or month for coffee. Good, strong friendships can help to keep us moving forward in our faith. 

The more time we spend getting to know God, the more we begin to understand ourselves. Only once we understand ourselves can we begin to understand other people and better our relationships.

For More Encouragement

Check out Manney Resources for resources to help you grow your faith one morning at a time or read Developing a Faith that’s Strong Enough to Stand On.