What a Friend!
by Jilly Lyon-Taylor
I have recently been reminded of some of the wonderful friendships God has given me over the years – people with whom I have laughed, cried, prayed and shared experiences; people who know some of the best and the worst about me and yet still love me! I am so thankful to God for these friendships.
However, the greatest “friendship” any of us can ever have is with Jesus. Jesus tells us in today’s verse that He calls us His friends. I have always been impacted by the words of the song:
What a friend we have in Jesus
All our sins and griefs to bear
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer
The next verse goes on to say what peace we often forfeit and what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. This is so true.
It can be a great help to talk to our friends and to share our struggles and our joys with them, but how much better is it to be sharing every moment of our lives with the greatest Friend any of us can have! Jesus is always there for us as Counsellor, Guide, Comforter, Healer and so much more!
In Exodus 33:11, we read how Moses would go into the tent of meeting and the Lord would speak to him there, face to face, as a man speaks to a friend. God had chosen Moses to be the one who would lead the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt into the Promised Land, but He clearly wanted relationship with Moses as well as service. It was out of his intimacy with God that Moses was able to fulfil the task that God had set before him.
It is the same for us. God has a calling and a destiny for each one of us, but it is only as we walk in relationship and intimacy with the Lord that we will be able to completely fulfil our calling. He wants to be our Friend, as well as our Lord and Master.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, Thank You for the amazing truth that You are not only my Saviour, but You call me Your friend as well. Please help me to stay close to You and to involve You in every moment of my life. You are the best friend I can ever have. Amen.
Jilly Lyon-Taylor is part of the Leadership Team at Ellel Pierrepont. She worked in publishing and then with children in Hong Kong before concentrating on being a full-time mother and serving in the local church. Her desire to see people healed led her to the Luke Nine Eleven Training Scheme(NETS) at Pierrepont, and now she teaches and ministers there.
Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.
