This is a guest post from Natasha Cklamovska – a psychology student at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia who is also a second degree taekwondo black belt (how’s that for an interesting combination). In today’s post, Natasha provides a simple yet beautiful reminder about the importance of friendship. If you too are interested in guest posting on my blog, please visit my Guest Post guidelines for more info.
"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." Proverbs 17:17
Throughout the Bible, we see many examples of "best friends", such as Elijah and Elisha:
2 Kings 2:2 - "And Elijah said to Elisha, 'Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to Bethel.' But Elisha replied, 'As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you!' So they went down together to Bethel."
Or Ruth and Naomi:
Ruth 1:16-17 - "But Ruth replied, 'Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.'"
And of course, David and Jonathan:
1 Samuel 18:1“… Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself.”
If you’re very blessed somewhere in your life journey you will encounter a person who you consider to be your "best friend." This is the person who knows the depths of your heart and their companionship brings the purest joy.
You may face many battles together and overcome them but what happens when a battle arises between each other? What happens when you don’t see eye to eye? When you’re misinterpreting every nuance of their actions and words? One of the most painful experiences is when a close friendship breaks…
Sometimes we take for granted the people who are closest to us and the enemy blinds us with thoughts that make us forget who and what we cared most about all along. We build barriers between us, through words spoken or unspoken, feelings kept silent, opinions unvoiced, or through jealousy, envy and pride, which destroy the once amazing fortresses of protection we build in the friendships we have.
A wise person once told me that, “we always have a choice.”
As the Lord said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.” (John 15:13). We need to choose lay it all down.
Lay down those thoughts, lay down those feelings, lay down your brokenness, lay down your pride, first into the hands of God and He will pour the graces of forgiveness, understanding, humility and love into your heart. Seek guidance, wisdom and discernment from God. He will become the compass that directs anything inside your heart that went astray. He can restore your friendship and the joy it brings.
Present all the broken pieces to Him and trust Him to make what was broken beautiful again in His timing, by His grace through His power and for the glory of His name.