Monday, June 29 – Sunday, July 5

Every thread of this week leads here. The men at Adullam were changed by proximity to David. The disciples were formed by proximity to Jesus. And now Jesus turns to His disciples and says something that should stop us cold: I no longer call you servants. I call you friends. Not because they have earned it — they will all scatter before the night is over — but because He has chosen it.

Let Jesus be a friend to you. This is not a sentimental invitation. Friendship with Jesus is the pattern and the foundation from which every other healthy community flows. You cannot become a Benaiah — standing in pits on snowy days, stepping toward what others run from — if you are trying to draw from a well that has nothing in it. The depth of what you offer your closest circle will always be proportional to the depth of what you are drawing from in your friendship with Christ.

Lean into healthy community. Lock in over the summer. Proverbs says the companion of fools suffers harm, and that iron sharpens iron — but iron that never meets iron stays dull. You do not become wise in isolation. You become wise in proximity to the wise, which is why the most important community question is not “who do I want around me” but “who am I becoming by being around them” — and, before that, “am I spending time with the One who is wisdom itself?”

What is your Heavenly Father asking, empowering, and equipping you to do in the communities He has placed you in? You did not end up in your church, your City Group, your friendships by accident. You were placed there the way David was placed in the cave — not as an ending, but as a beginning.