Friendship with God

As I was in the [prime] ripeness of my days, when the friendship and counsel of God were over my tent,           —Job 29:4 AMPC

Friendship with God should be a desire in all our lives. Abraham was called a friend of God. God even asked a question in Genesis 18:17: Shall I hide from [My friend and servant] what I am going to do?  God wanted to share His plans with His covenant friend. Being able to reach out to the One who created the heavens and the earth when we want to, that is a privilege that all of us should enjoy. (Those of us who have made Jesus the Lord of our lives.) Unfortunately, many Christians don’t make time to develop friendship with Almighty God.

We must pursue God the way we pursued the significant relationships in our lives.

We called people. We text them daily. We went out with them. Relationships didn’t just develop on their own. Relationships had to be developed. Many are caught up in the hustle and bustle of life. We all can get caught up in the day-to-day grind of life. We cannot make excuses. We must take the time to fellowship with God daily. God wants to commune with us.

He wants to talk to us about His plan for our lives. God wants to develop a relationship with all His children. The Bible tells us that He “is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”. It is obvious that Job’s relationship with God influenced His life. He referred to this “as the prime of his days”.

Job had become the greatest man in the East. He had wealth and influence. It was obvious that the friendship and counsel of God was over his tent. If we want to experience success in our lives, God’s friendship and counsel should be over our tent as well.

God wants us whole

From there he went all over Galilee. He used synagogues for meeting places and taught people the truth of God. God’s kingdom was his theme—that beginning right now they were under God’s government, a good government! He also healed people of their diseases and of the bad effects of their bad lives. Word got around the entire Roman province of Syria. People brought anybody with a sickness, whether mental, emotional, or physical. Jesus healed them, one and all. More and more people came, the momentum gathering. Besides those from Galilee, crowds came from the “Ten Towns” across the lake, others up from Jerusalem and Judea, still others from across the Jordan.

Matthew 4:23-25 The Message

God wants you well. God wants you well in every area of life. Jesus came to heal the sick, but not just those who were sick physically. Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted. Jesus came to heal the oppressed. Jesus came to set the captives free, spirit, soul, and body. God wants you free from a tormented mind. II Timothy 1:7 tells us that:

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.

God wants you to have a calm and well-balanced mind. A mind that is free from worry and fear. A mind that is well balanced. Jesus said something in Luke 12:29:

And you, do not seek [by meditating and reasoning to inquire into] what you are to eat and what you are to drink; nor be of anxious (troubled) mind [unsettled, excited, worried, and in suspense];

God does not want His children to have a unsettled, worried mind. We are to keep our mind on the Word of God. Keeping our mind on God will allow us to experience the peace of God. The Word of God is to be the anchor to our souls. That simply means that we can stay emotionally stable when hard times hit us because we are standing on God’s Word.

We know that God wants us well physically. Jesus took the stripes on His back so that we could be made whole (Isaiah 53:5). III John 2 tells us that God desires for us to prosper and be in health even as our soul prospers. God wants us to prosper in our health, our soul, and in our finances. It is easier to help make someone whole, when we are walking in wholeness in our own lives. God wants us to be examples. We are His evidence that we can experience the blessed life that Jesus shed His blood for. That life is possible for us if we can believe for the Bible tells us that all things are possible to him who believes.

None of These Things Move Me

And now, you see, I am going to Jerusalem, bound by the [Holy] Spirit and obligated and compelled by the [convictions of my own] spirit, not knowing what will befall me there— Except that the Holy Spirit clearly and emphatically affirms to me in city after city that imprisonment and suffering await me. But none of these things move me; neither do I esteem my life dear to myself, if only I may f inish my course with joy and the ministry which I have obtained from [which was entrusted to me by] the Lord Jesus, faithfully to attest to the good news (Gospel) of God’s grace (His unmerited favor, spiritual blessing, and mercy). Acts 20:22-24 Amplified Bible Classic Edition

There will be times in all of our lives when we have to make the statement that Paul made: None of these things move me. The devil will give us his best shot. He will whisper things in your ear, telling you that you will not make it. He will whisper that God’s Word will not work this time. He will say all kinds of things to intimidate and to scare you.

But none of those things move me. It is hard to move a believer off the Word of God. It is even harder when that believer knows who he is and what belongs to him. He is like a tree planted by the rivers of water. That individual is always prospering. That individual is always bearing fruit because of where he is planted. We must stay “planted” into the Word of God. When you are rooted and grounded in the things of God, you are not easily moved or distracted by what the enemy is doing in your life. He may be attempting to wreak havoc in your life, but you know that it is temporary. You know it is a matter of time before you walk out your victory in Christ. The devil may huff and puff, but He can’t blow your house down. Your house has a firm foundation. Your house has been built on a rock. Trouble may come your way, but it will come to pass you by. You are in the secret place. The angels are encamped around you. They are defending you and preserving you. No weapon formed against you will prosper. The weapon may form, but it will not prosper. The promises of God is what keeps us anchored. We will not fall if we are leaning on God. We can be like Paul and say: But none of those things move me.

Greatness = Servitude

When the other ten heard of this conversation, they lost their tempers with James and John. Jesus got them together to settle things down. “You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around,” he said, “and when people get a little power how quickly it goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not to be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for many who are held hostage.”

Mark 10:41-45 The Message

Two of Jesus’ disciples requested to sit on His right and left side when He established His kingdom here on earth. They wanted the position of greatness. Jesus eventually gave them a key to greatness. He told them that if they wanted to be great, they must first be willing to serve. Jesus even gave Himself as an example when He told the disciples that He did not come to be served; He came to serve. God has a purpose and a plan for all of our lives. Regardless of how big the plan is, it is not self-serving. The plan is not to elevate you. You may be elevated in the eyes of the people, but the plan is ultimately to help people. It was the will of God for David to be king. Samuel anointed him to be king when he was a teenager. 2 Samuel 5:12 says:

So David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted His kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.

David was established as king, not because God wanted him to be a “big shot.” David was established as king for the sake of the people. His becoming king was the will of God, but it was for the people. Your business is ultimately to be a blessing. Your ability to cook. Your ability to teach. Whatever your talents and giftings are, they are to be a blessing to humanity. Remember John 3:16:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

God loved us so much that He gave us Jesus. Jesus was treated like a king (and rightfully so, He is the King of kings), and yet He came to serve the people. God sent His best, and His best came to serve. We should follow His example. We have been sent into this world, equipped with gifts and talents that will be a blessing to humanity. Don’t keep them to yourself. Don’t be selfish. The world is waiting on the manifestation of the sons of God. The world is waiting on you!