Friendship With God - Cup of Faith

Friendship With God

The bible speaks of Abraham as being a friend of God. I’ve always wondered how it looked like to have the All-Mighty God as a friend, the Creator of heaven and earth calling me His friend? I must be honest, there were moments when I thought that this was not attainable. It just seemed like it was not for everyone but later in my life, I came to understand that God desires to have a friendship with all of us, with you. It is the sole purpose of our existence, fellowship with God. In his book, Trevor Hudson delves deeper on the subject ‘Friendship with God’ and shares some important truths that will make us understand why we have deep yearnings to be in a friendship and how a better friendship with God can be life-changing.

In ‘Friendship with God’, Trevor highlights two themes that run through consistently in the book; friendship with God and personal transformation. As we learn to trust God and grow as His Friend our lives are transformed. Friendship with God births personal transformation into our lives. We will suddenly see a change in the way we think, feel, what we desire, and the way we treat others. We are wired for friendship, both human and divine. This explains why we feel a deep sense of heartache when we are alone or lonely.

One of the first few pictures we find in the bible on friendship is from the book of Genesis, the story of Adam and Eve. God walks in the garden, He calls out for Adam and Eve, “Where are you?”. He knew exactly what they had done yet He does not reprimand them. He only asks, “Where are you?” Because now they were separated from God. The friendship that they once had, had fallen to the ground and this was the very thing that God created them for, divine friendship. None the less God continued to pursue a friendship with them, as he continues today to have a friendship with you and me. The lesson we learn here is that nothing can put off the flame of God’s longing to be friends with us.

For me this message is very powerful, it puts into perspective the reason why God wants and loves us. But how do you start building a friendship? You will know from personal experience that even your natural friendships are built on a foundation. Now, what is the recipe for your friendship with God? What is in the foundation? Where do you even begin to develop your friendship with God? Here are some key points that Trevor highlights for us:

Meditating On The Gospel Stories – Keep company with Jesus by meditatively reading the Gospels. Receive personal knowledge that comes from living with Him each day and entering His heart and mind as we do with our other friends.

Doing What Jesus Said – Once we have begun our friendship with Jesus we will want to please Him in everything we do. This is why Jesus told His disciples, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching”. A good place to begin our journey of practical obedience is to make a conscious decision to become a loving person.

Prayer (Intentionality) – Good friendships take time, effort and planning. So the first thing I encourage you to do if you want to deepen your life of prayer is creating a space to be with God on a regular basis.

Conversation – Our friendship with Jesus grows as we talk to Him. On the other hand, like any good friendship, we also need to listen to God. During my one-on-one times with Jesus, there are moments when I am simply silent.

Transparency – When we do not express what we are thinking and feeling to the Lord, a sense of distance grows between us. Whenever we keep our more “negative” feelings and attitudes away from God in prayer, we hinder the movement towards intimacy. Honest prayer involves sharing our doubts and disappointments, our anger and resentment, our loneliness and grief.

In this book, Trevor continues to share some insights into developing our friendship with God. What makes it more interesting for me is that he uses his life-long experiences and stories to make us understand, this brings it home. You can even sense his pastoral heart coming through, he earnestly wants us to taste what he has also tasted, the sweet friendship the God. I must say that the book stirred up in me a new passion to know the Lord even deeper, to give attention to my friendship with God, to know that there is always more.

Imagine living each moment conscious that you are a friend of God. Jesus says that you are no longer servants but friends meaning that He will share the deepest truths with us because we are in partnership with Him. When we hear his voice and follow, we make room for our friendship to transform the person that we are for His glory.

1 Comment
  • Yaneke Lewis
    Posted at 05:02h, 17 May Reply

    Thanks for sharing this book review Delaree! And I must say, on the matter of Transparency, those words are absolute gold! God bless you and God bless the author, Trevor Hudson!👍🏽

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