Devotional | I Am Your Friend

I sit in my backyard, sipping a steaming cup of coffee. Mmmm. Delicious. My eyes fall on the flowers that adorn the large rocks before me—like a cascade of a picturesque purple lava flowing over them.

A bold breeze laughs as it tugs at my hair. The twitter of birds fill the air and the fresh beauty of a brand new day wraps itself around me like a soft silky shawl. I take a deep breath as I enter the moment. Contentment fills my heart and overflows. Thank you Papa.

A small brown bird hops into our yard. He struts on the grass, a few feet away from me. I smile at him. Should I take a picture? But no … too late. It is gone!

“I’m your friend, birdie. Don’t fly away!” I only think it, but just as if it had heard me, it returns immediately, swooping down to our lawn for a brief second, then swooping out again before I can blink my eyes or whisper a glad Hello.

I could have been its friend if it had let me.

There are other friends who don’t act like friends … like this year, for instance. Would you call it your friend? There are plenty of jokes on social media about 2020 being a year that didn’t exist. But as I chuckle over them, I wonder how many of us realise what a gift this year has been!

“I am your friend,” says 2020.

Would you agree?

Are there aspects of the year that have appealed to you? Are there aspects that have repulsed you? If we had to choose a favourite year, I doubt it being picked as THE YEAR above all others. And yet, in spite of the challenges of 2020, many golden nuggets have been unearthed amidst the rubble. It’s been a year of learning. Of focusing on what’s most important. Of figuring out how to do life differently. Of discovering afresh how vital relationships are. Of not taking anything for granted. Who would have thought we couldn’t give or receive a hug without feeling guilty for breaking a rule? It’s a year of learning to give up what we think are our rights for the common good. A year of becoming less self-focussed and more other-focussed.

Believers in Jesus know that every challenge has to first pass through the Hands of a Loving Father before they touch you and me. God doesn’t cause the calamity but He allows it, just as He permitted Job to suffer, maybe as a source of encouragement for us. And so … tough moments whisper in our ears. They sometimes even shout as loud horn of an oncoming train: “I am Your Friend.”

Adversity stretches me and shows me who I really am. It teaches me, grows me, moulds me. Adversity takes my faith to new heights as it teaches me deeper trust in a faithful, wise and good Father. It reveals to me how to be content in every circumstance. God has often spoken to me through seven words: “Wounds from a friend can be trusted.” (Proverbs 26:7) Yes, He sometimes wounds me. Not because He is a masochist, but because He is a loving Father. Not because He condemns, but because He knows what I need. I have his promise that He will work it all together for my good.

The thrilling bonus is that whatever I go through as a Christian writer becomes rich fuel for my writing journey. So the more colourful my life, the more I have to write about, even if those colours are occasionally black, brown and grey. The best part though is that life’s murky seasons lead me to seek and find God as a drowning man gasps for oxygen—for then … a miracle occurs. I draw closer to Him. And in Jesus, I find rest and life; health and peace. And that, dear friends, is everything.

Let us search and find in the unexpected gift of 2020, diamonds glistening in the sludge and bright stars lighting up our dark skies. Let’s dance to the music of the gospel as we Christian writers invite dancing partners, from the broken battered bewildered world, that is thirsting for a Saviour.