By Grace Shiflett
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. I Peter 5:7
Has there ever been a time in your life where you felt like you didn't have a friend in the world? Maybe something happened and your friendship was shattered. Or you just felt like there was no one who would understand. Have you ever longed for that phone call or text message to reassure you there was a friend somewhere and the Lord had laid you on their heart? Maybe you felt you needed their prayers and needed to know they were praying for you? I don't know about you, but I have been there!
I remember a time in my life when the world around me seemed to crumble overnight.
It was like a bad dream. What would I do now without those friends to support me? It was during that very low time in my life that I began to ask the Lord for help. My prayers were selfish at first. I only thought of myself in my pity party — desperate for friends who were no longer there. All the while, ignoring the One Who will never leave nor forsake us; the One that has promised to hear us when we call. It was in those quiet days that the Lord taught me a valuable lesson about friendship. He wanted me to be content in knowing He was there, He cared, and He was enough. What more could I ask for than to know Jesus is my Friend? We have access anytime to draw nigh to God and be as close to Him as we want to be.
This might sound childish to some, but oh what a wonderful day when I was content with only Him!
I cherish dear friendships greatly, but there are times when we go through things that we discover that His plan is for us to depend on Him and Him alone. At the time, it was not a fun lesson. But I look back, and I am so grateful that He drew me close to Him. He showed me how I had relied more on my friends than on Him. I desired their support and approval more than that of my heavenly Father. This lesson the Lord allowed me to learn many years ago changed my relationship with Him. It caused me to realize how much I had lived my life running to a friend or desiring a friend's support more than I ran to Him.
When the Lord takes you through places in life where you must walk alone, depending only on Him, you can truly know how important He is. The songwriter said it best;