Day 12 - Developing Your Friendship with God

Barbara Williams

My God, My Savior, My All & All, My Everything, My Friend…

I remember walking down the street about 8 years old and it seemed like someone was walking with me as well as watching me. It wasn’t the first time I had experienced this as a child but this particular day was different. Because I stopped and said, “Who’s watching me, God is that you?” I remember turning around and looking behind me. I didn’t see anyone but I knew someone was with me. I looked up into a clear blue sky and just said it, “God is that you?” I didn’t get an answer verbally but even as a little girl I knew that the presence of someone was so strong it had to be God. It brings tears to my eyes because that day we became Friends. Many times throughout my life He would draw me away from everyone and everything and I would find myself in a window looking up into the sky and talking out loud to Him just like the first time. And still to this day He does that and it’s something that is beyond me really explaining unless you have a relationship with him. He’s like no other friend I have because He just lets me be me. And I don’t have to explain myself really because He already knows me better than I know myself. And yet He loves me more than I can measure. He’s never leaves me alone or lets me down. He loves spending time with me and I love spending time with Him. I can tell Him everything and know that He understands me better than I understand myself. We love each other unconditionally. He makes me laugh and He wipes my tears when I cry. If I need Him for anything, He’s always there. Whatever He wants or needs from me, I do my best to do what He asks of me. When I cry He wipes away my tears in different ways. He even makes me laugh. It truly is a joy in knowing Jesus!!

I would just like to share some things that I’ve come to know as really being true when you’re friends with God. As I read Day 12 of Purpose Driven Life so many things are key in developing any friendship but especially with God. 

You are as close to God as you choose to be. You have to spend time with Him that you make just for Him. If you want a deeper, more intimate connection with God you must learn to honestly share your feelings with him, trust him when he asks you to do something, learn to care about what he cares about, and desire His friendship more than anything else. God wants complete honesty about your faults and your feelings. He doesn’t expect you to be perfect, but He does insist on complete honesty. (Philippians 4: 8-9)

You must choose to obey God in faith. Every time you trust God’s wisdom and do whatever He says, even when you don’t understand it, you deepen your friendship with God. Jesus made it clear that obedience is a condition of intimacy with God. He said, “You are my friends if you do what I command. (John 15:14)  We are friends with God, but we are not his equals. He is our loving leader, and we follow Him. We obey God, not out of duty or fear or compulsion, but because we love Him and trust that He knows what is best for us. We want to follow Christ out of gratitude for all He has done for us, and the closer we follow Him, the deeper our friendship becomes. 

Unbelievers often think Christians obey out of obligation or guilt or fear of punishment, but the opposite is true. Because we have been forgiven and set free, we obey out of love and our obedience brings great joy. When Jesus asks us to love others, help the needy, share our resources, keep our lives clean, offer forgiveness, and bring others to Him, love motivates us to obey immediately. We often think that we have to do great things for God, but actually He is more pleased when we do the small things for Him out of loving obedience. They may go unnoticed by others, but God notices them and considers them acts of worship. Great opportunities may come once in a lifetime, but small opportunities surround us every day. God treasures acts of obedience more than our prayers, praise, or offerings. What pleases the Lord more: burnt offerings and sacrifices or obedience to His voice? It is better to obey than to sacrifice. (1 Samuel 15:22) Live Obediently! Jesus Did!

Choosing to value what God values is what friends do. 
They care about what is important to the other person. The more you become God’s friend, the more you will care about the things He cares about, grieve over the things He grieves over, and rejoice over the things that bring pleasure to Him. What does God care about most? The redemption of His people! He wants all His lost children found. To be a friend of God, you must care about all the people around you whom God cares about. Friends of God tell their friends about God.

There is nothing more important than developing a friendship with God. It’s a relationship that will last forever. Some people have missed out on the most important thing in life, they don’t know God. Remember it’s a choice, your choice; you’re as close to God as you choose to be…

Verse to Remember: "Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you." James 4:8a (NLT)