"Friend"

According to Webster:
1 a : one attached to another by affection or esteem
2 a : one that is not hostile b : one that is of the same nation, party, or group
3 : one that favors or promotes something
4 : a favored companion


According to Jesus:
Exodus 33:11
The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.

1. Friends share. We speak, we relate to one another, we convey knowledge and experience in a personal manner.

Judges 11:37
But grant me this one request," she said. "Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry."

2. We weep together. Friends are not there only when the sun is shining in our lives, but true friends are there to roam the hills with you-- to walk alongside you-- sharing in your pain and sorrow.

Job 2:11
[ Job's Three Friends ] When Job's three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him.

3. We come together for a purpose; God gave us friends so that we may encourage, build up, and comfort one another.

Job 32:3
He was also angry with the three friends, because they had found no way to refute Job, and yet had condemned him.

4. Friends are not in our lives to sugar-coat the world for us. The job of a friend is not to justify a negative or harmful decision or action, or to placate. We are to sharpen one another and correct each other, without condemning. Judgment has no place in friendship.


Proverbs 17:17
A friend loves at all times

5. Period.

Proverbs 18:24
A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

6. No friend is perfect. We make mistakes, we offend, we become prideful or shift our priorities at times. Friends you once shared everything with may fade, but hey, we're fickle humans, and at least there's one friend who won't ever fade or take you off his BFF list.

1 John 4:11
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

7. And how does God love us? Selflessly. Abundantly. Enthusiastically. Creatively. Uniquely.

I've been challenged in the friend department recently (and by recently, I mean for the last 7 months, at least). Finding friends, keeping friends, forging bonds with new friends, etc. All of the above. I've always loved having secrets and inside jokes with friends; I've always felt special whenever a friend would come to me to tell me about the latest in their lives and/or ask for my opinions on various things. But lately, it's tiring. I find myself worried, and stressed, when a friend asks for advice. Or worse, when they don't ask for advice, but I hear God telling me to speak truth to them, because they've hit a dead end and need a guide back (btw, the guide = God in this case, just to clarify:)).

And what if they don't recognize truth? What if they don't accept truth? I realize this isn't my problem, I'm just the messenger, but it doesn't make the situation less painful. To see people you care so deeply about hurting and not having the power to help or change the situation...sucks.

Lord, help me to love my friends. Help me to support them in the ways they need, and to be a source of grace and truth for them.