By“Jacob asked the shepherds, “My brothers, where are you from?” “We’re from Harran,” they replied. He said to them, “Do you know Laban, Nahor’s grandson?” “Yes, we know him,” they answered. Then Jacob asked them, “Is he well?” “Yes, he is,” they said, “and here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” — Genesis 29:4-6 NIV
One difficulty introverts face is forming casual friends in any new environment. Meanwhile, that’s not how God designed us to live. No person is an island. We need one another to help one another.
It doesn’t matter which category of psychological temperament you belong to; you must develop the skill that enables you to network with new people wherever you go as fast as possible. Without it, you can lose people who’ll help you in the future. Let’s look at how networking helped Jacob find his way to Laban, an uncle he had never met before.
When Jacob arrived in Paddan Aram, he wasn’t even aware of the land he had arrived at. The Bible says, “he came to the land of the eastern peoples” (Genesis 29:1). When Jacob saw the shepherds, he immediately started a conversation with them. The conversation was so thriving that he even suggested an idea to handle the flock in the scorchy sun.
There’s no verse in Genesis 25 that explicitly says that Jacob was a shepherd. He usually stayed at home. So it could be that he had little experience in handling flocks.
Whether he was an experienced shepherd or not, he spoke well with the shepherds of Paddan Aram. It was out of this conversation that he got to meet Rachel, the daughter of the man he, Jacob, was sent to stay with. Later on, Rachel became his second wife.
If Jacob had kept quiet and never chatted with anybody, he would have missed the right direction or taken a long time to get to Laban. Moreover, he wouldn’t have known Rachel.
See, the people who God has ordained to help you in your life are connected one to another. It’s very significant to network with new people wherever you go because you might never know how a one-day meeting with a stranger would end you up getting the service of a destiny helper or even a mate (like how Jacob met Rachel.)
Remember that as a child of God, Christ is the giver of your identity, not psychologists. Stop confessing I’m this or that based on doctors’ or psychologists’ reports. You are who God says you are. If the Word says, “By Jesus’ stripes, you’re healed,” then believe that your health in Christ is yours. That confession should override any minor or major chronic disease in your life.
Live by what the Bible teaches, not by the terrible influences from the media. Don’t say you have difficulty approaching new people. It’s not your nature in Christ because nobody of that sort can reach the ends of the world with the gospel. Learn how to open up conversations if you don’t know how to do it. You can learn anything you want to learn. However, commit to the Word of God.
You’re a blessing.
Prayer
Father, I receive grace to network with new people through interactions everywhere I go in the name of Jesus. Amen!
Devotional Code: KGD // 2022 – 145
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