Tuesday, June 9, 2009

My God, My Friend

My daughter was playing around with her IPOD last night, and said she wanted to play the "what if" game with me (some silly game she had downloaded), and I said okay.

She asked me random questions like:
- "would I prefer to eat lizard skin or squirming roaches".(Eeeww. Just the thought of that made me gag a little.)
-"would I want to be homeless with 30 friends, or rich with no friends"
-"would I rather be wealthy in a job I hate, or poor in a job I love"
-"would I rather have a uni-brow or buck teeth"
-"would I rather die of starvation, or dehydration"... And so on.

We laughed at all the dumb questions, some much weirder and grosser than the few above, until she came to one specific question.

The question was, "would you rather be able to talk to God and nobody else, or be able to talk to anyone and everyone, except God".

Of course, the best answer would be to choose talking to God, over talking to friends, but on the other hand, that might make for a lonely life from an earthly perspective. I know that God is our best friend, and no one could ever love us as much as He does, but to think we had to choose between never talking to anyone ever again except God? Hmmmmm. Makes you think, doesnt it?

Even though it is hard for us to grasp that concept with our human minds, God wants to be our one true friend. In fact, He wanted it so much, that He gave His only son to die on the cross for us. Sometimes the best friendships cost something.

But God didnt just let Jesus die on the cross, He gave Him victory over death, for us. Jesus cleared the way for everyone to have victory too, over sin and death, if we choose to believe in Him. As a result, we are free to pursue a relationship with God, and be friends with Him!

Lets think a little deeper about this whole friendship thing: A true friend only wants what is best for us, and God would definitely rank the highest in the true friend category. I can tell Him anything, and know that He will respect my privacy. I can cry on His shoulder and pour out my innermost feelings, and feel His arms and comfort around me. I can be thrilled about happy circumstances in my life, and know that He is pleased that I am joyful. I can be angry at negative circumstances, knowing that He will still love me just the same. Just like a true friend.

God is our one true friend, no matter how many good friends we think we have, none of them compare to the loyalty and dependability we get from Christ. So hypothetically, if God was the only One we could talk to, it might not be that lonely after all. He meets all the criteria that we would seek in a best friend!

I also imagine that we would be more in tune with Gods voice, as we spent all of our time with Him. We would better understand His Word, as we became engaged with His stories and verses. As a result, the more we "hung out" with God, the better friends we would become, and the need for other friends, might become a distant memory.

Is God your friend today? Do you really know Him? Does He really know you? Would you consider yourself to have a close and bonding friendship with Him? Do you have an even stronger relationship with God, than you do your earthly friends?

Im not saying that God does not expect us to have friends, because He wants us to have earthly friends, which is why created a partner for Adam to begin with! He created us to need to love, laugh and fellowship together. He puts special people in our paths to enrich our lives, because He knows we need that companionship. He gives us the blessings of good friends, so that we can build relationships and be an encouragement to each other.

He just asks that we remember to put Him at the top of our friend list, instead of at the bottom.

So what you would you choose?





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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Tracy...
Was up early...this devotion wasn't up yet so left a commit on yesterdays. The thoughts that are going through my mind right now are undescribale. I was letting you know that you have a TRUE FRIEND out there.....Now I came back up to read it again...(had to leave for a while). My son was ready for breakfast.....this is on your devo. about Friends....can't shake the feeling....not for sure what they are...All I can say is alot of what you write is how I feel most days. What you do write does help me through them.

"My God, My Friend" came to be my Everlasting friend....I'm with yhea in having friends here on earth.

Today he is having me push these keys....Not for sure why? I have no blog spot...just email. I have been struggling with a few friendships.....because of these here friendships...is where I came to find the best Friend of all...."MY God, My Friend!!"

Just a Thanks Tracie. I feel with you through the internet this certain friendship.

Have a Blessed Day Tracie!!

From a appriciated Friend..Rhonda

Angie said...

"Is God your friend?" At first we would all answer, "Yes, of course." But is He really?

I think of a friend as someone that I want to share some exciting news with and be the one who will help me with my struggles. Someone that is happy with a phone call, for no other reason than to chat. Someone that will "always" be there, no matter what time of the day or night.

Sure, my earthly friends have and will let me down at times.

I do want to have that strong and bonding relationship with Him so that when anything happens, good or bad, He is the first one I turn to because I will have learned that He will never let me down.

Joyful said...

It took a move to a new city, sitting in the back pew of a church, by myself, and God's gentle voice speaking through my loneliness, "Am I enough?" to bring me to that place of decision and acknowledging that yes, He is enough.

I'm so thankful He is my Best Friend,
Joy