My God, My Friend
by lynda ventura

One of my favorite songs is by James Taylor. It's called, "You've got a friend."
It's about the commitment of one friend to another; a commitment that will weather the seasons of their lives. "Winter, spring, summer or fall, all you have to do is call, and I'll be there, yes I will."
Nice song, but let me tell you, being there is easy to sing about but hard to do. We, as humans, sometimes let each other down in that way. It hurts to be let down by our friends when we need them the most, but we are in good company.

God's word tells us that in Jesus' most desperate moments, in the garden of Gethsemane, his disciples let Him down. "Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What! Could you not watch with Me one hour?" Matt 26:40 Notice He spoke to Peter specifically. I can't imagine how Peter must have felt, he was one of Jesus" closest friends. He was supposed to be morally supporting Jesus, as our beloved Savior went through the most grueling hour in His life. It was important that Peter be there for him. But he wasn't. As Jesus sweat blood in the garden, Peter fell asleep.

How often those who are supposed to love and support us, just don't seem to be there when we need them. Maybe physically they are present, but they don't understand what we are going through so they are kind of mentally absent. Even worse, maybe they don't know how to respond to our situation so they stay away physically too. It's a lonely time. There are some places of pain that only the person suffering can go. Jesus knew that feeling well.

In His heart Jesus knew better than to expect anything of man in his flesh. John 2:24-25 says, "But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man."

In our flesh, we are forgiven sinners. We don't love perfectly. We can't love perfectly. Only the Lord can do that. So if we know we can't love perfectly, we can't place expectations on others to love us perfectly either. We can however expect God to love us perfectly, and He does. God's word says, "Cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you." 1Peter 5:7.And Isaiah 41:10 says," Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." God is with us! He promises to never leave or forsake us! (Heb. 13:5) Even Jesus' birth name, Emmanuel, means "God with us."

God doesn't sleep. Next time you hear that, remember this: He won't sleep through your suffering. He won't snore through your pain. He won't roll over and pull celestial blankets over His head while you cry. He is thereloving you, holding your precious heart in His hand. He loves you.

Remember when we were kids and we had a crush on someone? What did we do? I don't know if guys did this, but us girls would write the name of our loved one on the palm of our hand. Well, God did the same thing. "See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me Isaiah 49:16 He never forgets you or I.

Give grace to the friend who lets you down and give thanks to the God who lifts you up. In Christ Jesus, you've truly got a Friend.

Lyn Ventura is a Christian writer from New England. She may be reached at [email protected]

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com







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