By Chris WittsSunday 25 Aug 2024Morning Devotions with Chris WittsFaithReading Time: 1 minute
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Transcript:
Yesterday I started talking about friendship with a question – are you a friend who cares? So what is it that’s special about a friend? You know that I think a friend is someone who won’t gossip about you behind your back. And that person will not try to damage your reputation. I think that’s very important. That person will be there when they’re concerned to stick up for you when you’re in trouble and even apologise when they do something wrong.
What Does It Mean To Be A Friend? Pt. 1 — Morning Devotions
I mean, these are the sort of basic traits of friendship. Friends that celebrate your success. And when you’re down and you might need some support, that person is there. So how wonderful it is to have someone like that who is a friend. This person has a sensitive side that would make them understand how you feel. Now, of course, they mightn’t be able to read your mind.
But chances are they can usually tell if you’re happy, sad or shocked about something – if you’re excited or upset, and that person will know somehow how to lift your spirits and to make your day.
What a friend can mean for you
So I’m talking about a person who is supportive of you and your goals. So if you’ve got someone in your life who is a friend, that person will know what makes you tick and will help you to become the person you want to be. That’s really important, too, and he or she he won’t try to change you or drag you into situations that make you feel uncomfortable. And when you’re in a situation where you need some defence, that person is right beside you.
You’ve probably got something really in common with that person. They might be fun to be with, to relax, perhaps to have coffee with and to share moments. And good friends give you more than what is asked. When they see that you’re in need – they’ll say, “Look, I can help you.” I don’t expect anything in return. They’re generous even with their time, their money, if necessary, things that they own and their knowledge. So these qualities, if you see them in other people, you think maybe that’s what I should be like. How can I expect to have good friends if I’m not a good friend?
I read recently about a survey. 40,000 people were asked this question, “What is the most important quality you see in a friend?”
And guess what? The result was the ability to keep a confidence. That was the highest rating answer in that question. 40,000 people, someone who can keep my confidence. Now that’s an important value, someone who won’t betray your confidence or talk. As I said about you behind your back.
We need friends who will care because we are broken people. It was Henry Nan who famously said these words – “when we honestly ask ourselves which person means the most to us, we often find that it’s the people who don’t give advice, solutions or cures, but have chosen to share our pain or touch our wounds with a warm and tender heart. That friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion and that person who can stay with us in an hour of grief or bereavement. And who can tolerate not knowing everything or healing or curing, to face with us the reality that we are powerless? That is a friend who cares.
That’s Henry Nan, the gifted writer and a man who obviously knew about brokenness. But he gave, I think, a very good definition of friendship.
So there it is, touching people’s wounds with a warm and tender heart. How often that arm around the shoulder or a genuine handshake can really say a lot without words being said. And we don’t always have to use words, of course, to our friends. They can stay with us in our grief and bereavement or when we feel that we don’t have any answers. But when all is left and you might say, I don’t have a friend like that, can I just say that God is there. Whether you’re a spiritual person or not, I want to say that you can always turn to God. You may deny God, but God doesn’t deny you. He is there. You can tell him what’s bothering you, and he can actually help you even before you go to sleep at night. Ask God your Heavenly Father for guidance. Talk to him and tell him what it is that’s on your mind. And the Bible has lots to say about the fact that God is the greatest friend of all.
Let’s Pray
Heavenly Father, how true it is, You are the divine friend of all of us. Be that friend in in our time of need. And I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.