There is so much that happens in our everyday lives. We always encounter new people, new opportunities and new surroundings. It's easy for us to recognize that things are changing around us! But do we look to see how the things around us are changing US?
Let me break it down...you guys see the picture of the avocado right? (I have a new love for avocados thanks to one of my close friends) Earlier this week, I bought some avocados so that I can make one of my healthy smoothie recipes. When I got home and started trying to cut the avocado, I realized it was HARD AS A ROCK! I mean seriously guys, I could barely cut into that thing! I laugh when I think about it now, but at the time I was slightly irritated. So while I trashed the one I had ruined trying to cut it, I put the other avocado in the same bowl where the bananas are. Two days later, I remembered that avocado and decided to attempt making a smoothie again. To my surprise, when I got it out of the bowl, the avocado was so soft! I was so amazed that I called my friend telling them how I couldn't believe that this rock hard avocado became so soft so fast. My friend told me "yeah, that's what happens when you put an avocado in the same space as a banana. It makes it ripe faster!" Sure enough I googled it, and apparently ripe bananas release ethylene which is a hormone in fruit that triggers ripening. (Who knew fruits have hormones too?!)
At that moment I got a huge revelation...by simply changing that avocado's surrounding, I changed the avocado. It went from not being ready to use, to ready to use.
Bottom line: WHAT and WHO is around you makes a difference in whether you are ready for God's next move or not.
I started thinking "what if I didn't put that avocado in the bowl with the banana?" Would it still be hard and not ready to eat? Probably so! It may have eventually gotten soft on its own, but it would have taken longer. By placing it in a better environment, it ripened faster!
Sometimes, God is trying to move us to a new place of surrounding not because we want to, but because he knows that by placing us there, we will grow and be ready for whatever he has for us! Just like an avocado that isn't placed in a space with bananas, we will still ripen if we are not moved, but it won't be as fast. Remember that we should always follow God's timeline and not our own. He knows what we need and when we need it! So if he's telling you to get into that new environment, just trust him! Cause I guarantee that it will benefit you in the end.
Proverbs 13:20 says to "Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble" [NLT]. God knows what he wants from us and where he wants us to go (read Jeremiah 29:11). Some of us are avocados that are hard and need to be ripened so that God can use us. But we haven't surrounded ourselves with the right bananas: by bananas, I mean the right people who are gonna push you to be great and not encourage your foolishness. A banana could be your home, your workplace, etc.; is it an environment that promotes change or not? Please know that the longer you wait to move, the more you delay what God has for you! I don't know about you guys, but I want to experience all the great things God has for me. I don't want to stay a hard avocado. I'm ready to ripe and be used by God!
Today I challenge you to look at yourself and your current life circumstances. If you are not changing (meaning you're still a hard avocado) then it's time to evaluate who and what is around you! What type of friends do you have? What kind of music do you listen to all the time? What is the atmosphere in your house like? Next, you need to ask God to either send you some change agents or place you where you can begin to change so that you can fulfill His purpose for your life. It's time to get you around some bananas so that you can be all that God has called you to be!
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