“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)
As a young person, I always had a lot of friends. Life was great until one day it wasn’t. That’s when I found out who my true friends were. At first, I didn’t notice that most of my friends weren’t there. I was in the middle of grief and despair. It was all I could do to put one foot in front of the other, and quite honestly, at that point in my life, I didn’t care. Out of all of my friends, my friend Marcia, stuck by me. She had a quiet way about her. She was a little older than me, and she had been through difficult things in her own life. I guess you could say she came with experience. She would come to my house and get me out of bed when I didn’t want to. Sometimes we would go someplace for a cup of coffee or tea. Other times it may have been a drive in the country. There were times that I’m not even sure we talked. She had this quiet way about her that spoke of trust and friendship. She was there when my other friends weren’t. She stuck by me through so many hardships; she was only a phone call away when I needed her. Realistically though, she couldn’t be with me 24 hours a day. She had two school-age children at home with responsibilities of her own. During those times, I had to find a way to get through each day. I felt very alone. That’s when I learned that I needed to lean on God more. I read scripture after scripture until I was exhausted, and even then I still kept reading. I’m not sure that I comprehended everything that I read at that time. It’s hard to comprehend and remember things when you’re in the middle of depression and grief. But when I held my Bible in my hands, I felt the power of Jesus holding me up. There was a strength there that I couldn’t necessarily see, but it was felt. That’s where faith comes in. I learned to persevere with the Lord’s help. He knew that I had lost most of my friends. I wasn’t fun anymore. I didn’t smile or laugh. But through those difficult times, I learned that it didn’t matter how many friends I had. It isn’t the quantity that mattered; it was the quality. My faith grew stronger the more I read His Word. I learned so much during that time in my life. I learned what true friendship meant. I know that my ultimate friend is Jesus. I know that whenever I need a friend, He is always there. I can’t imagine my life without Him. Do I still have difficult times? Yes, I do. But this is what I know: that no matter what perils and difficulties we go through, friends will come and go throughout our lives. Each will bring something to our lives that we will remember them by. But no matter what, the one friend we can always count on, is our Lord Jesus Christ. Once He is in your life, He will never leave you.
Instead of a prayer today, I will leave you with the lyrics to the hymn, written by Joseph M. Scriven, as a poem while living in Canada, to his mother in Ireland.
WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS
What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy-laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge—
Take it to the Lord in prayer;
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer;
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
Thou wilt find a solace there.
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