God Speaking

“Come near to God and he will come near to you.”

(James 4:8)

I have always loved gardening, but now I live in an apartment and have transitioned to growing plants on my balcony and house plants inside. It still requires a lot of tender loving care from me to help them to bloom and grow to their full beauty, carefully watering them seeing enough sunlight reaches them, removing dead flowers. I feel it is like having a relationship with them. Human relationships also need a lot of tender care to help them to grow to deep understanding of each other and a close loving friend is a wonderful asset in life

“A friend loves at all times.” (Proverbs 17: 17)

Proverbs tells us how important friendship is and when it says all times, it implies that when times are rough a true friend loves through thick and thin.

The most beautiful relationship offered to believers is the one with the Heavenly Father. Jesus tells his disciples and of course us as well, is the way he sees us as friends.”

“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from the Father, I have made known to you.” (John 15: 15)

To become a true friend of Jesus we need to nurture our friendship with him, and it is like nurturing our human friendships. We need to spend time with him, we need to share our inmost thoughts, our fears, our joys our hopes. Just as we do with our friends. We need to set aside time just to be with him, not sorry. Lord too busy to talk this week. If we did that with friends our friendship would be very hollow. Part of true friendship is listening to our friends, and we often forget that the Lord also wants to talk to us, he is often pictured as a gardener lovingly looking after us his vine. Just like I need to break off the dead flowers so my plants will continue to bloom, sometimes between deep friends, one needs to point out something in our lives that is hindering us living full lives

“Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.” (Proverbs 27: 6)

This is another reason we need to be in close contact with our Heavenly Father. Sometimes he needs to point out to us what is hindering our spiritual lives and distancing him. He speaks to us in different ways, a verse will alert us, a sermon wakes us up to what is dragging us down. Our loving Lord is always willing to listen when we confess what is happening and willing to forgive us and suddenly, we come close to him, and he comes close to us again.

Setting time aside every day to pray and to read his word, safeguards our precious friendship.