No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
John 15: 15 ESV
In most ways, I’m not really a good person to be writing about friendship. I was never the popular girl. I never had a ton of friends. I was a shy, anxious, quiet kid, often made fun of the playground for her weight and desire to do well in school. And honestly, for most of my life I wasn’t even a very good friend to the few I had.
Fast forward, and there came a time when I finally listened as God called me back to him. I hadn’t been walking with the Lord or seen the inside of a church for a while. A short time after that, and I entered into the hardest season of my life. The first thing God did was remind me in my utter brokenness that he was still with me. I didn’t have many people I could call friends.
But I knew I could still count on a close, dear friend who had been a huge a part of my life for years before we both moved to different states. She pointed me back to God’s truth when I needed it most.
Then, God started bringing more women into my life who spoke His truth.
These are women who, despite their own struggles and brokenness, have the deepest love and longing for Christ. I truly believe that God knew I needed these women to be there with me and for me in this dark season. To say they helped me to survive isn’t an exaggeration.
Looking back, there are so many small and big ways that their friendship and support was a light, a lifeline, a reflection.
- Truth
- Accountability
- Love
- Support
- Challenging my thoughts and beliefs about the world
- Encouragement
- There when we call
- Sit in it with us
- Pull us out of us
- Cry with us
- Cry for us
- Pray with us
- Pray over us
- Think about us
- Help us start over again when we mess up
- Give us grace, mercy, and compassion
- Are intimately interested in all the mundane details of our lives
- Celebrate our victories with us
- Carry our deepest pains and sorrows with us
- Give us practical help
- Help us believe in our loftiest dreams
- Remind us that we’re not alone
- Show us that we matter
There are a million ways these women poured into my life. They’ve helped me grow emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. They’ve helped me gain strength and start seeing the image of God in myself and others. They’ve helped me start learning what resilience is.
God didn’t create us to be alone. He knows we need each other. He knows we needed to be reminded of his word when we feel far away. He knows sometimes we need a hug from a real live human being who loves us.
But when I thought of the power behind true friendship, the way friends unconditionally love, deeply care, and continually sacrifice for one another, it struck me how much more our Lord and savior has the ability to do that for us. If the thoughtfulness, level of understanding, and deep empathy of our best friends can fill our hearts and bring us joy, how much greater, deeper, and richer are all those things coming from our heavenly Father and risen savior? How much more can we grow and gain from leaning into the friendship of Jesus Christ, who knows and sees so much better than even our closest friends? How much more can we receive and give back if we grow in intimacy with him as the example or deepest, truest, friend?
The friends we have in our lives and our interactions in our friendship with others aren’t perfect. We have struggles and hurts and maybe even their most well-meaning advice isn’t always Godly or what’s best. But if the love we can give and receive from our closest friends can be just that good that it helps us show up as the women God created us to be, strive for our dreams, love more, and live better, how much more will diving deeper into a friendship with our God? If the radiant and beautiful reflection of what good, healthy, Earthly friendship can be is dim compared to our relationship with Jesus, what will happen is start to seek him as our closest friend?
Our King and Savior deserves respect, glory, and honor as the God of all creation. But we’re capable of respecting our friends. And I think it’s possible to have the deepest respect and reverence for God’s holiness, and still seek and grow in a friendship with him that superseded anything we have on this Earth. In fact, in John 15:15, the the idea of his friendship is already there in his Word.
So all we have left to do is learn to lean into it.
Create Space for Grace
Soak in God’s word. Let it wash over you. Create space to be with God in this moment. Breathe, pray, and consider a step he’s inviting you to take with him.
Breathe
Breathe in: Jesus, Lord of all
Breathe out: You call me friend.
Pray
Lord Jesus Christ,
You are the only one who can be a perfect friend. I praise you and thank you for the intimacy you desire to have with me in every area of my life. Thank you for earthly friendships that point me back to you. Help me to lean into what it means to have true, deep, life-giving friendship by leaning into you and your love.
In Your Holy Name,
Amen
Take a Step With Jesus
Think about the different ways you might depend an earthly friendship. What is one way you can apply that to your relationship with Jesus today and lean into his loving friendship?