Grateful for God’s Friendship
“God-friendship is for God-worshipers; They are the ones he confides in.” Psalm 25:14 Msg
This Thanksgiving I am grateful for God’s friendship!
It is astounding to me that God wants to be our Friend. Not only do we deserve nothing but judgment from Him, and not only does He save us instead, but He actually reaches out His hand of friendship.
“For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.” Romans 5:10 NLT
So, what does this friendship consist of? What makes a true friend? Many wonderful things, but one of the most important things is captured in the verse below – my favorite Scripture in the Bible:
“Trust in Him at all times, you people. Pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge for us. Selah.” Psalm 62:8 NKJ
In the Bible, pouring out your heart to God is called a Lamentation. I like this definition of a Lamentation:
“The honest cry of a hurting heart wrestling with the paradox of pain and the promise of God’s goodness.”
The truth is, God wants to hear your heart – your whole heart. All the good. All the bad. Why? Because that’s what friends are for – and God wants to be the best Friend you’ve ever have.
I shared this message at church last Sunday, and afterwards I had a conversation with a church member, one who loves God with all her heart, who told me that she had never heard this before, after decades of being in church. This deeply disturbed me.
Some of the ways we have portrayed God to the body of Christ has done a grave disservice, both to the church, and to God.
Question: How can you have a deep, intimate, meaningful friendship with someone if they never hear your dreams and joys, as well as your dreads and sorrows, at the deepest level?
Truth: The depth of your friendship with God will be directly proportionate to the depth of your transparency with God.
Do you have any deep friendships that are void of honesty and vulnerability? No. Of course not. It’s not possible. It’s the same with God.
When I was a younger Christian, I was taught that I should never tell someone about my true, current condition – sick, broke, depressed, confused – but rather I should only confess God’s Word – healed, blessed, joyful, possessing God’s wisdom… What I found though was two-fold:
1. I was alone in my distress – just me and God’s Word. This worked some of the time, because faith comes from God’s Word, and faith moves mountains. However, it didn’t work all of the time. And I was missing out on something even more important than moving mountains…
2. I had no close friendships. By only maintaining a “positive confession” no one ever knew my true struggles and deepest sorrows.
I was taught that if I told others what I was going through, this would be a negative confession, which would in turn, cause my mountain to get bigger. However, what I have learned since, is that just the opposite is true.
Check out what the Bible says:
“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so God can heal you. When a believing person prays,
great things happen.” James 5:16 NCV
This doesn’t just work with sins; it works with all of our weaknesses. Even Jesus confessed His sorrows to His friends!
“He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with him, and he began to be very sad and troubled. He said to them, ‘My heart is full of sorrow, to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me.’” Matthew 26:37-38
NCV
Some have said that a sorrow shared is half the sorrow, and a joy shared is twice the joy. I have found this to be very true.
Also, when I share my needs with a friend, they can join their faith with mine – the prayer of agreement – and we can blow the mountain into the sea together!
Do not buy into the lie that you cannot bring the deepest, darkest parts of you to God. Do not be afraid to pour out your heart to Him. He already knows what’s in your heart anyway. Bringing your hurts to Him will not only deepen your friendship, but He can also actually do something about them.
This Thanksgiving, among all the other things you find to be grateful for, be thankful that God calls Himself your Friend, and that Jesus came to make that friendship possible!
John
P.S. If you have a God-Story, a praise report of something God has done in your life, please go HERE and let us know!