Be Your Best to Give Your Best!Sample

Day 20 — Iron Sharpens Iron

Have you ever noticed how easily words can shape your confidence? A careless comment can leave you doubting yourself for days, while the right feedback can push you to grow in ways you never imagined.

As women in leadership and business, we are surrounded by voices—clients, colleagues, mentors, friends, but not all of these voices are equal. Some tear down, others build up. Some drain, others strengthen. The real key is learning to discern which voices to welcome and which to release.

The Bible reminds us: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17, NIV). Healthy, constructive feedback sharpens us. It challenges us, polishes our edges, and makes us stronger leaders. This sharpening can feel uncomfortable, but it makes us better, stronger, and challenges us to think in new ways. .

We sometimes confuse receiving feedback with being criticized, but there is a difference: criticism attacks, while feedback strengthens. Criticism says, “You are not enough.” Feedback says, “You are capable of more.”

This is why we cannot grow in isolation. God places people in our lives who care enough to tell us the truth in love, just as Paul describes in Ephesians 4:15: “Speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ” (NIV).

As business leaders, it isn’t healthy to only surround ourselves with people who nod and agree. We should build a circle of trusted voices who are not afraid to honestly speak truth with love, point out blind spots, and extract potential within us that we may not see ourselves. God uses people to sharpen us so that we can lead with excellence.

Today, ask yourself: “Who are the people in my life that I can trust to tell you the truth in love?” How can you lean into their feedback as a tool for growth instead of resisting it as criticism?

Prayer: Lord, thank You for placing voices of wisdom and encouragement around me. Help me to recognize the difference between destructive criticism and constructive feedback. Teach me to receive truth spoken in love with humility, and to grow into the leader You have called me to be. Amen.