When God Uses a Friend…
I was having lunch at a new Italian restaurant with a special friend this past summer. After enjoying tasty Puttanesca served over spaghetti squash, we settled into deep conversation, all the while, drinking pots of French Press Decaf.
Sharing lunches like this with good friends over yummy food and great coffee is joyful.
My friend is trustworthy, and I felt safe discussing a ‘sticky’ relational issue, which I’m trying to navigate in a Christ-like way. I used a biblical reference to illustrate, and she questioned the application of that portion of scripture to my situation.
I didn’t feel defensive because this woman spoke in a loving and gracious manner. A good, healthy conversation followed about how the spirit of Scripture often resonates and helps us unravel tangled thoughts and emotions, which had been the case in my circumstance.
That lunchtime conversation was still on my mind the next day when I was reading Psalm 86, a prayer of David asking for help. These verses from The Message especially stuck out:
11-17 Train me, God, to walk straight;
then I’ll follow your true path.
Put me together, one heart and mind;
then, undivided, I’ll worship in joyful fear….
you, O God, are both tender and kind,
not easily angered, immense in love,
and you never, never quit.
So look me in the eye and show kindness,
give your servant the strength to go on,
save your dear, dear child!
Make a show of how much you love me…
As you, God, gently and powerfully
put me back on my feet.
A tender, kind, patient, loving, and persistent God uses many different means to train us to walk straight and on true paths.
I am grateful one of those ways is through a tender, kind, patient, loving, and persistent friend whom God brings along at just the right time to challenge and encourage.
O, Lord, I pray, make me that kind of friend! Amen
