When It's All About Friends
I was in eighth grade when my dad got a job overseas and moved our family from Minnesota to the Philippines. At the ripe old age of 13, I was dragged far away from every friend I’d ever known, halfway around the world. I felt friendless. Over the years, that scenario repeated itself in future moves (back in the U.S.) and other major life changes. I’m no stranger to feeling friendless.
Don’t get me wrong; I’ve been blessed with many friends, both besties and here-for-a-season friends. I’ve walked with some dear women for decades, and others for just a few years. I’ve weathered the ups and downs with my girlfriends, and my husband and I have worked through some challenging friendships with married friends. God has graciously provided wonderful friends in every place I’ve lived.
Yet, with each move we made, loneliness hit head-on. I searched high and low for common ground with the people around me. I sought out friendly faces who might become my new best friends. But each time, before I could find a friend to share life with, I discovered a greater need. I needed to get closer to an old friend: Jesus.
Jesus had been my “friend” (a.k.a. Savior and Lord) since I was about 8 years old, but it took a hefty dose of feeling all alone to take our friendship to the next level. I needed Jesus to anchor my soul and remind me I wasn’t alone. I needed to remember that I still—always—have a friend in him. (But apparently, I didn’t learn that lesson the first time, given how many times I’ve moved!)
In John 15:15, Jesus told his disciples they were his friends. Abraham was given the honor of being named God’s friend (Isaiah 41:8, James 2:23). Then there’s King David who was called “a man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22). Scripture consistently invites us to develop a heart connection, a friendship, with the Lord.
Our penchant for remote work, online shopping, virtual reality, and social media has, somewhat ironically, created lonely spaces in our lives. We don’t have to move across the nation or around the world to feel alone. Human friendships are fragile, and we can feel distant as we move through the seasons of life, when jobs become demanding, when the status quo gets old, when families splinter, when children leave home, when loved ones die, or when relationships change.
Life takes wild turns, but when we’re lonely, hurting, tempted, or just needing someone to listen to our heart’s cry, there’s no better friend than Jesus. He welcomes our conversations, he listens as one who’s been there, he understands at a level no one else can, and he indwells us with the Holy Spirit to carry us through. He follows us wherever we go!
Jesus is a friend like no other. His unwavering, unchanging presence meets us on our loneliest days, and he provides exactly what we need. Jesus shows up no matter where we live, who we do life with, how old we get, or how many times we forget him. He amazes us by doing “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Eph. 3:20, NIV). He’s our ever-faithful, forever friend.
So, let’s make new friends and keep the old, but always hold on to the best friend ever, Jesus.