“Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
but an enemy multiplies kisses.”
Proverbs 27:6
A True Friend
As the proverb says, a true friend cares enough to not only encourage you but to also tell you some hard things when they are needed.
But an enemy will try to act as if they care but have evil motives to harm you, or simply not care enough to tell you the hard truth.
So, here's what I suggest.
1. Ask God to provide you true friends.
2. Be a friend that you want to have.
Ask God to Provide you True Friends
This sounds obvious but I didn't do it for years and I was wondering where they all were. I've always had a few life-long friends from my past but none in my church!
Crazy, I know.
Then I realized that I hadn't asked for them. So, I committed to pray for strong friends. In fact, I prayed for nearly 2 years.
Then God answered in a big way and provided a network of like-minded men through MD5. These men wanted to grow their relationship with our Heavenly Father too.
I'm so thankful for Steve Crawley, who obeyed the Lord and asked me into this community!
So, don't give up, God values friends so he will answer this prayer, in His perfect timing.
Be a Friend that You Want to Have
In other words, "Pray for rain and bring an umbrella."
Because we know that God will answer this prayer, you need to be ready to steward these friendship blessings well.
How?
By focusing on lovingly serving them in the relationship and not yourself.
However, there is a maturation process that you have to go through. God will primarily use men to encourage and sharpen you for a time. Then, he calls us to flip the tables and do the same for other men.
This creates a beautiful discipleship relationship.
What Kind of Friends Do you Want?
If you desire true friends that will sharpen you and NOT just tell you what you want to hear then follow these suggestions that Jesus teaches us.
Be persistent in prayer. Then, be prepared for the "rain" of friendship blessings when they come.
The picture above was taken in Jerusalem, this summer, and seemed fitting because without the blessing of strong discipleship relationships in our lives we would not have had the desire to take this amazing family trip.
Thank you God for raining down all our friendship blessings!
Ryan Johnson
MD5 Facilitator