Not sure where this is going so bear with me...
Ya know, I've always thought this song meant eternity, and I'm sure it does, but we are seeing that this can be here in this life too. When God brings together friends of like minds and like hearts, they can remain friends in him forever, no matter the distance or time apart.
We all feel like we need friends in this life to encourage and uplift us, to exhort us to do the right thing, to grant counsel and share ideas. For fun and for sorrow, we rely on each other to keep us on His path. Friends make life interesting in so many ways. And there are times when we feel alone, friendless. But if God is our God, we shouldn't.
Why does this mean so much right now? Because my husband and I have been talking about it a lot lately. :)
Proverbs 17:17 tells us, "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity."
Again, here I used to interpret this as a friend will be with you for adversity, and it certainly does mean it. But lately I also see that it means a friend will be with you in the fair weather. True Godly friends may not speak every day (or even months at a time), but they pray for each other continuously, love each other continuously, do not judge and are there for it all. Seeing them and catching up is not a burden, the love is evident for your friend. And as long as God is their God--their closest friend--I believe He will keep this covenant friendship in this life as well.
We've all had fair-weather friends, when things are good they are around, but if we need help they scatter like leaves in the wind. But what about those friends who are only there when things are bad for you or them? You want to be part of their daily lives, those fair weather days, yet it doesn't come about. If you are friends like that in the flesh, it can cause feelings of bitterness and feelings of being used, etc.
My husband and I have been talking for a couple of years now how some of our friends are "adversity friends." And we have been praying for them and will continue to be good witnesses and loving family/friends to them. Yet that connection was no longer there, and we realized that God was moving us in other directions. It took a long time for my faith to get where I said I believed, but thankfully it has. In the meantime I endured some time in the wilderness, feeling alone and battered by the winds of fickle friends.
The good Lord gave my husband some wonderful friends in co-workers, Godly men who are blessings to both of us. But I seemed to flounder. I felt loneliness and hurt at a lot of things. I remember crying out to God many times. Then He showed me that He wanted me alone for a time so I could learn to rely on Him, to become a friend of His heart so I could hear Him and love Him like I should.
With His help, I was able to heal and to be there when others needed me without feeling the pangs of hurt and anger and bitterness. Sometimes they rear their ugly heads but I run to my Father, my closest friend and confidant and those feelings disappear in His glory and company. Because of that time alone, I was able to focus on Him alone and experience the intense one-on-one relationship we are meant to have with Him.
And though I have a lot of things He's working on in me, He has led us (me and hubby) to a wonderful church family and within that family of Christian brothers and sisters, some new and already dear friends. In the process, we have felt a shift away from other friends who are still dear, yet do not understand or do not want to be a part of our walk with God. Even some family members have separated themselves.
Yet any time my heart starts to cry about it, I am reminded that we are to separate ourselves from the world. And more importantly that we have the most steadfast, most caring and loving and the most awesome friend in our Lord, Jesus Christ. That our very love of Him means that some people may even hate us. Our flesh may have problems understanding but I think that's why we should lean to His understanding and not our own. He knows what He's doing and we should witness His love and glory in all things--including old and new friendships.
While He is good and just and will provide what we need, no matter how we "feel" we must remember that He is our true friend, and will never leave us nor forsake us. And when we surrender to Him, His love just draws people to you, bringing some Godly friends who will be there with you (at least in heart) in good times and bad! You can perform service for Him in your giving because you have the best of friends as your Saviour. Because of that love we can be with Him forever.
In addition to new friends, He's bringing "old" friends back into my life. Friends I believed long gone, but because of our common Godly heritage and background, we are coming back together. We may not speak all the time and we may not share daily life, but I know they are there if I want to chat and the same is there with me. But mostly, because I have faith in Him first, the loneliness is gone. I have all the friends I could want and need in Him, and once I truly realized that He began sending people to fill in the gaps here on earth.
So, if you're feeling lonely or without friends, I highly encourage you to sit and talk to God. Pour your heart out to Him and allow Him to fill in the loneliness and sorrow. He wants to be first in your life in all things, including friendship. Put your words and faith (that He is your everything) into action. He may just want to have some alone time with you right now so that you can be together forever!
And to my friends here on earth, I love you!
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