Friendship. What does it mean to you?
Over the last few months I’ve realised afresh the importance of good friends:
- They keep you going when times are tough
- They help you stand firm when you feel you can’t take any more
- And friends are good to be with, have a laugh with and help you enjoy all that life has to offer
Of course it’s also important to be a friend, but that’s not the focus of this post.
My recent experience of friendship
Over winter life got tough for me as some issues from way back reared their ugly head. I fet so alone with my thoughts and emotions until a good friend came by my side. And I started to open up to her.
It wasn’t easy. Sometimes the things I was dealing with felt like a sheer cliff I must scale in a raging thunderstorm, metal nuts and cams humming from the electricity. It was scary. I panicked at times and became overwhelmed from all the stuff that was going on inside my mind. Sometimes I felt like closing the door, hiding in my house and ignoring the world forever. Or worse.
But with my friend the climb got easier (Eccles. 4-9-10). She ‘held’ me like the rope holds a climber, I gradually gained confidence and eventually could move again. It was tentative at first as I needed to suss out each step before daring to inch up further, but slowly I gained momentum. And when the worst did happen and I fell (or felt like I was falling) my strong rope remained fast. Caught me. I was never abandoned and felt encouraged enough to keep climbing.
I’m not yet at the top of my cliff and the thunderstorm is still raging at times. But I can now climb up with a renewed sense of purpose. And I’m not alone – I trust my friend will remain by my side.
But there are other friends too.
During my climb I’ve realised others have been waiting and wanting to cheer me on. All I needed to do was let them. And now I have some staunch supporters encouraging me from below, others on ropes beside me. But most importantly, my biggest supporter is hollering from the top, “You can do it, keep going!”
But who is this friend…?
The best friend you’ll ever have: the Holy Spirit
The Bible tells us:
- God is for us and not against us (e.g. Rom. 8: 18-39)
- Jesus comes alongside us and walks with us (e.g. Matt. 11:29 – MSG), including in our darkest moments (Ps. 23:4)
But it’s the Holy Spirit who’s called our friend (John 14:26). He was sent to dwell among us (Acts 2:38; 1 Cor. 3:16) – in you, in me – so we’d never be without a guide who comforts, counsels and so much more.
I love the poem, ‘Footprints in the Sand ‘ by Margaret Fishback Powers. It says we’re carried in our darkest moments:
“He whispered,”My precious child, I love you and will never leave you,
never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints it was then that I carried you.”
The Holy Spirit has certainly carried me recently and I don’t know what I’d have done without Him. He showed me very powerfully that I needed to make some big changes in my life and led me to ask a friend (see above) for help. But I’d never have had the courage to do that without praying for His guidance first, asking that I recognised what He was saying to me, and obeying whenever I did hear (John 15:14). And I only heard the Spirit’s voice because I’d been spending time (abiding) with Christ regularly, praying or asking others to pray with me when I couldn’t do it myself.
I’ve seen pictures from God in my head confirming I’ll soar with the eagles as I bow down and worship Him, praising Him in the presence of others and keeping my body pure. Pictures of seaweed (me) being battered by the stormy sea (difficult situations) yet holding steadfast because it’s firmly anchored in Jesus’ love. Pictures of me kayaking down a powerful stream high in the mountains, struggling to keep upright and paddling like crazy, yet still finding my way to the peaceful meander below where fruit trees blossom and produce a bountiful crop.
This is what it’s like doing life with the Spirit. A true adventure with the best friend you’ll ever have. We’ve come through many storms together surfing the waves, powering through rapids and bowing in obedience before the Lord. But always trusting that the eagles will rise again.
Life is not always easy but who wants that? Booooooring! And it’s so much easier with a friend by your side.
Praying you know the closeness of the Holy Spirit in all you do. God bless xx
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