“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.”
I spent significant time on the phone and in person with friends over the past few days. A lot of my time these days is meeting with people I’ve just gotten to know. They are new friends just getting connected with The Edge ministry. I love that part of my job. However the majority of my conversations these past couple days have been with long term friends, most I’ve known for decades. Each of them are dealing with very challenging, some downright awful, situations in their lives. Most involved tragedies or betrayals in their family or very close relationships. As I hung up with one I reflected in our time praying together at the end of our call. There was a pleading in his prayer to our Heavenly Father. I have had some pretty dark challenges in my life and as I listen to and encouraged these friends I found myself reflecting on those who have walked so closely with me during those times. I realize how God promises to be with us in the darkest moments of our lives. He does that primarily through those He surrounds us with. During a long drive back from Atlanta today I found myself reflecting on those friendships, the conversations I’ve been a part of the last couple days. The simple truth is we need each other. When Solomon talks about friends loving at all times it’s more than a verse in a chapter. It is an absolute necessity for survival on this planet. A few of the conversations involve people who are no longer with us. People who reached a point of sadness, darkness and depression that they no longer believed the future is going to get any better. Those people needed to recognize those in their story who love them at this dark time the same way they did in the bright times. Today reach out to friends who need to hear your voice and listen to the voice of the Spirit as he prompts you to reach out to others. #BeTheEdge
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 NIV
