Good Friends

I just spent the last 24 hours with two of my best friends. These ladies know almost everything there is to know about me. That could be a scary thing for some; to have people around who know almost everything about them.  But because of who these people are, I feel very secure in that knowledge.  Not because they are successful, or because they are upstanding citizens of their communities, or because they are good people.   I have this security because of their spiritual maturity.  I can tell them my inmost feelings and insecurities and know that they will not judge me.  They might tell me to get over myself, or that I need to examine the situation a little further, or that I am not applying biblical principals; but they will not judge me.  I can be away from these ladies for weeks at a time, sometimes even months, but when we get together, it is as if no time has passed.

It is my hope that all of you have friends such as these. I cannot imagine going through life without them. In Deuteronomy 13:6, God speaks of a friend as "one who is as your own soul."  These are my friends. Those who are as my own soul.  Through thick and thin.  When my life makes sense and when it doesn't.

In Exodus 33:11 the Lord talked with Moses, "...face to face, as a man speaks to a friend."  There are times during my prayers when I know without a doubt that I am "face to face" with God.  And yet, there are times when I know that I have "hidden" myself from Him. I know that I have refused to share the most intimate details of my life with the very best friend that I have.  The one who breathed my soul into this lifeless shell of a body.  Why is it so hard to tell God of my shortcomings and so easy to share with my other friends?  As I reflected on this I thought that perhaps it was because, being a parent,  I understand how much my shortcomings must hurt Him.  Not that I fail, but that I do not come to Him; that I do not always trust Him to forgive and understand.  Perhaps because, sometimes in my pain and frustration, I forget that He is a loving God.  I forget the fact that, when I cannot stand alone He holds me up, and when I cannot go on,  He carries me. God is not "as my soul," He "is my soul."

I pray that you not only have friends such as these, but that God is number one in your life. I pray that you come face to face with God on a regular basis. That you allow Him to carry you and hold you up when you cannot go on alone.

Thank you my friends, for listening.