Are you a Friend?

Today I'm sure my post is going to be scattered in some of what I'm going to say. I'm really using this as a way to get out some of my thoughts lately and hopefully in some small way it will be a blessing to those who read it. I know that there's the possibility that when I put so much of my weaknesses out there that people can use them against me. I know I need not worry about it, but there's still part of me that is concerned when I write this that people will say, "Oh, you just worry too much." My response is yeah I know I do, but He's still working on me. Amen! Plus I know the Lord can use my struggles to be a blessing to others. So here goes.

Have you ever thought much about your relationships with other people? I mean sometimes everything seems really good and you feel like you have a close bond. I would say for me personally, I tend to worry too much over this situation. I worry, do they like me? Do I annoy them? Did I say something to offend them? I know all this worrying is just of the Devil and my own flesh. I know I need to just give it to the Lord. To be honest that's easier said than done sometimes for me.

Do you ever feel like you wouldn't have a relationship with so and so if you didn't do all the work? Do you feel like you're invisible sometimes? Do you feel like no one would care if you ever showed up at church again? Do you always feel self-conscious like your butting in? Again, these are just lies, lies, lies. Isn't it amazing how the Devil wants to deceive us, get us off track?

Now you all have seen a glimpse into the real me. Not very pretty. Huh? What I've realized though is although that person over there seems so happy, so content, they're probably feeling the same things I am. They're feeling insecure about how I feel about them. I'm sure some don't, but this seems like an issue that we as women deal with. My husband assures me that men don't think this way, that they're just friends. He says they're not concerned if so and so doesn't shake their hand and talk to them. What freedom!!

Why have I said all this? If you feel someone doesn't like you, don't pull away from that person. Sometimes this is easier said than done too. It's a natural human response to not want to put yourself out there and be rejected. Is this true love? Not at all. I know I want God's love not love for myself. I want to have God's response, not the natural human response. John 15:13 says, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." I should be willing to be rejected to try and be a blessing to someone else. It doesn't matter how they respond. It matters that I do the right thing.

It's amazing to me how so many people feel alone in this world. We don't even know it. We just go on feeling like we're the only ones feeling that way. Why? Why do we keep on this type of behavior?

I just want to encourage you, encourage myself to cast aside what we "think" other people actually think about us. Let's worry about what God thinks about us as individuals. Let's remember, Proverbs 18:24, " A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. "

Ultimately people all around us are going through things that we can't even fathom. I know I go through things that others have no idea about. Sometimes it's the people around us who we think are the strongest in their faith that are the ones who are really struggling. What are we doing to be a blessing to those individuals?

My prayer: "O Lord, help me not be consumed with what others think. Let me not be deceived by my emotions and feelings or the Devil's lies. Let me obey what Your Word says. Help me be a friend even when others aren't a friend to me. Help your love to shine through me, that I may bless the one who is lonely. God help me to put others before myself for that's where true JOY comes from."

Ultimately the question really isn't,"Are you a friend?" It really doesn't matter what you or I think. The ultimate question is, "Does God think I'm a good friend?" Now that's convicting.