Friend

James 2:23 TPT Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith. He was even called the friend of God.

There is little question that social media has changed the way we communicate. It has connected and reconnected us with people that were not easily reached before and introduced a whole new vocabulary, radically altering the meaning of common words or phrases. We now measure impact by likes, shares, and posts. We use emojis to communicate our feelings and have “friends” we barely know.

The depth of a relationship can ultimately be measured by how much you know about someone and how well you know their thoughts, motives, and feelings. While social media may assist us in knowing some of these things about a person, there is no substitute for time together, personal face-to-face communications, and walking together with someone as they navigate the highs and lows of life. These special times allow you to go well beyond just knowing about someone, revealing who they really are.

Our God knows you better than anyone. He is the God who calls you by name (1 Thessalonians 5:24), who numbers the hairs on your head (Matthew 10:30), who knows our thoughts (Psalm 139:23), knows everything there is to know about you (Psalm 139:1), and knew you before we were even formed in our mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1:5). God knows all your ways, both good and bad, yet He still chose to love you and lay down His life for you. Ephesians 1:4 makes this amazing proclamation: “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.” Knowing everything that would ever happen, every evil that would be held in our heart or acted out, God still chose to love us unconditionally and withhold nothing to have an intimate friendship and relationship with us.

Jesus took the relationship even further when he told the disciples, “Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. You didn’t choose me. I chose you” (John 15:15-16). Jesus became the friend that is always loyal (Proverbs 17:17), sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24), sharpens us (Proverbs 27:17), gives counsel that is sweet (Proverbs 27:9), and ultimately laid down everything for us (John 15:13). The Son of God, who willingly gave up his life to be in relationship with me, now sits at the right hand of God, constantly interceding on my behalf. That is a true friend.

Psalm 25:14 tells us that the secrets of the Lord are revealed to His friends, and He teaches them His ways. As we draw near to God, He promises to quickly move in and reveal His faithfulness, goodness, unconditional love, joy, peace, and life changing ways. It has been said, “If you seek God's hand, you will miss His face, but if you seek His face, you will also get His hand.” Looking on the face of God opens us up to receive more of who He is and to understand more of His ways. Psalm 103:7 tells us that “Moses knew the ways of God, but the children of Israel His acts.” God desires a friendship where we seek him, to know his ways, receiving all that he has done on our behalf, and not limiting ourselves to only seeking his acts.

Lord, thank you for knowing me and calling me by name. Let me seek your face, receive you as a friend, and discover all that you have richly provided for me today.

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Gary and Sandy Anthony

1 Thessalonians 5:24 TPT The one who calls you by name is trustworthy and will thoroughly complete his work in you.

John 10:3 TPT And the sheep recognize the voice of the true Shepherd, for he calls his own by name and leads them out, for they belong to him.

Psalm 139:1-5 TPT Lord, you know everything there is to know about me. You perceive every movement of my heart and soul, and you understand my every thought before it even enters my mind. You are so intimately aware of me, Lord. You read my heart like an open book and you know all the words I’m about to speak before I even start a sentence! You know every step I will take before my journey even begins. You’ve gone into my future to prepare the way, and in kindness you follow behind me to spare me from the harm of my past. You have laid your hand on me!

Psalm 139:13-18 TPT You formed my innermost being, shaping my delicate inside and my intricate outside, and wove them all together in my mother’s womb. I thank you, God, for making me so mysteriously complex! Everything you do is marvelously breathtaking. It simply amazes me to think about it! How thoroughly you know me, Lord! You even formed every bone in my body when you created me in the secret place; carefully, skillfully you shaped me from nothing to something. You saw who you created me to be before I became me! Before I’d ever seen the light of day, the number of days you planned for me were already recorded in your book. Every single moment you are thinking of me! How precious and wonderful to consider that you cherish me constantly in your every thought! O God, your desires toward me are more than the grains of sand on every shore! When I awake each morning, you’re still with me.

Exodus 33:17 AMP The Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have asked; for you have found favor, lovingkindness, and mercy in My sight and I have known you personally by name.”

Revelation 3:5 NLT All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine.

Jeremiah 1:5 NLT “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”

Luke 12:6-7 TPT What is the value of your soul to God? Could your worth be defined by any amount of money? God doesn’t abandon or forget even the small sparrow he has made. How then could he forget or abandon you? What about the seemingly minor issues of your life? Do they matter to God? Of course they do! Even the very hairs of your head are numbered. So you never need to worry, for you are more valuable to God than anything else in this world.

1 Corinthians 8:3 NIV But whoever loves God is known by God.

Jeremiah 12:3 NASB But You know me, O Lord; You see me.

Nahum 1:7 NASB The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge in Him.

1 John 3:20 TPT Whenever our hearts make us feel guilty and remind us of our failures, we know that God is much greater and more merciful than our conscience, and he knows everything there is to know about us.

2 Timothy 2:19 NIV God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his.