One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Proverbs 18:24 (NIV)

 

Friendship, to me, is like finding the one comfortable chair in your home and sitting. It is there you feel relaxed, and find a haven in which you can be yourself. My friends do this, and provide a source of care, love, accountability, and protection.

Starting a friendship can sometimes be awkward. I read a quote once and had to laugh as it summed up what a new friendship was like – “Friendship is so weird.. you just pick a human you’ve met and you’re like “yep I like this one” and you just do stuff with them.” (Anonymous)

Friends are very important to me. It takes time to develop deep, lasting friendships, but it is well worth the effort and the risk.

 

I have had some beautiful friends over the years. I still have beautiful friends. Some of my friends have only been there for a time, and others a long time.  In my my kitchen are some butterflies and a poem (the picture is above) on the wall near my kitchen sink. The last words of this poem are –

“And remember that are others praying faithfully for you.” (by J. Morse)

The butterflies are representational of my friends. I love to pray for them. It helps me to have this reminder of each of them and to be thankful for their friendship and love.

Many my friends have recently moved away, and I have others who still live in the town where I used to live. These wonderful women are the ones I must make special time for, as it takes effort to phone and make contact regularly. Often, I find that during the day God may place one of them on my heart for a moment and I pray for her. If they stay in my mind for longer than a few hours, I know that it is time to make contact – to phone them or make contact via text message to make sure they are ok  and make time for contact with them.

I often schedule “dates” with my friends. If I don’t, the days and week turn into months and the friendship gets swallowed by the pressures and busyness of life. These “dates” are sometimes by phone, mostly by in person, but always necessary, loved, and needed.

My friendship with God is the same. It is needed and necessary. It provides a source of care, love, accountability, and protection. It takes time to develop the friendship and is necessary for me to put in the time and effort.

God can be your friend? Sure, why not?

The bible talks about people who had a “friendship” with God. God talked to Moses, like one speaks to a friend. (Exodus 33:11). Abraham the friend of God – James 2:23. David who had a heart after God – Acts 13:22.

I am not talking about a BFF, I am talking about a walking, talking friendship with your Creator. The one who knows you better than anyone, and loves you enough to die for you.

Our friendship with God takes listening, finding out who He is and what He is like. We need to schedule time to be with Him. For me to hear Him, I need to stop talking and listen. I need to care about Him and really want to be with Him… and yes, it is sometimes a little awkward to start with too.

Does it sound like I am talking about my earthly friendships? Yes, it does.

God designed us to have a relationship with Him and to know Him. Through the Holy Spirit God speaks to us, we learn to listen carefully to His voice and recognise when He speaks. God will not say anything to me that is out of character with Him, so I need to understand His character.

If there was one thing that I would encourage every Christian, it is this – get to know God. Spend time with Him and His word. Be obedient when He speaks. Have a heart after God. Love God with all your heart and soul and strength.

My friendships are important to me, but my friendship with God is the most important. Every day I touch base with God in some way, and sometimes I get to the end of the day and need to do so – for my sake.

I want God to be important to you too. I want you to desire God the way He has created you to. Have a one-on-one relationship with God and enjoy the time you have with Him before eternity. That is why He sent His Holy Spirit, so that the relationship with God could start now. Just like He walked with Adam and Eve, He wants to walk with you too.

And here is a bonus – God will not let you down. Life will let you down, people will let you down, our bodies will let us down – but not God.

Friendships are important. They are like sitting your comfortable chair… and we have a God shaped chair waiting for us.

 

Be blessed