The last time I journaled Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life it was about Becoming Best Friends With God. My husband and I through the years have the opportunity of meeting individuals where we became best friends, but in the course of circumstances we no longer hear from them. We think of them often, but have no way of finding them as they were military. We nurtured them as they grew in the Lord and then after 3 years we left the church we were all attending to find a church closer to home so we could minister to those around us. Somehow, when we made that change they began not coming over, they were busy and the last we heard they no longer attended any church. These were new believers who had three charming children who are now grown. We don’t know if he is a casualty of the war. They lived with us for almost three months and blended in our lives so beautifully.
When I think of ‘Becoming Best Friends with God’ and ‘Developing your Friendship with God’ I think of this family. Perhaps we were to hasty in making a move at the time we did. We definitely became best friends and were developing our friendship with them. It felt like my husband had a younger brother. Today, we still are at a loss as to why they cut their ties off with us.
This is not so with God. We might cut our ties off but God promises to ‘never leave us nor forsake us.’ One verse in particular that touches my heart is ‘that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.’
In this particular chapter Rick Warren brings out several points: #1 We must choose to be honest with God. Perhaps we should have told our good friends the other reason we were leaving the church was because we had a new pastor whose rigidity with his workers did not set well with us. Perhaps our friends felt abandoned. My husband and I both taught Children’s Church for years.
#2 We must choose to obey God in faith. Faith is the substance of things not seen but it is believing what we can not see. #3 We must choose what God values. #4 We must desire friendship with God more than anything else. I love James 4:8 “Draw close to God and He will draw close to you.”
Who is your very best friend? I trust it is God. Tom and Sandy – this blog is for you.
"Once a Wounded Lily now a Desert Rose" 