Friends

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down,, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."


"Friends are friends forever if the Lord's the Lord of them..." You know, I really hate that song. Nothing against Michael W. Smith, but I had to sing that song at my senior prom, and therefore was forced to listen to it ad nauseam. However, the central theme of that song is true. Friends are essential to the Christian faith. God gives us people in our lives to help us through the hard times. It seems like common sense to know that, right? Most of us understand that the people in our lives serve to help us and for us to help them. It's a give and take thing. Then why do so many of us keep insisting on doing it all alone?

So many people (including myself) try to hide when they're going through a difficult time and not let anyone in. We play the martyr, thinking it's our cross to bear alone. But Jesus already did that, so why would we want to make things more difficult for ourselves than they need to be?

It's hard to put ourselves out there, yes; and when you let yourself be transparent and vulnerable, you're bound to get hurt at some point. However, the other option is to isolate yourself which ultimately leads to becoming numb or bitter and in turn will affect your relationship with God. He didn't mean for us to walk this road alone; that's why the church was built as a community. We are much more effective together than we are if we work alone.

Anyway, I've had this devotion sitting on my mac book for months. I finally got around to editing and posting it. I didn't delve too deep, but I feel like God just needed to remind me to not shut people out. I find myself in a season of my life where I can't tell everyone everything that's going on inside my head. This is new for me, because I'm usually such an open and honest person. Hence, I find myself struggling when I'm with certain people because I know I can't discuss what's weighing on my heart with them, and my first inclination is to shut them out. I know this is the wrong reaction, and perhaps I have caused myself more pain by acting in this manner. So God is working on me... I wanted to share it with you.