BFFs! I Bring You Tidings of Great Joy!
That’s what I said to my BFFs when I arrived at their home here in Tulsa! Yay! For a few days, I’m back “home” to Tulsa where I have a ton of memories along with a boatload of treasured friends and family that I love so much. Forty years here can sure roll back the curtain of those memories.
There. I updated you on my whereabouts, but this blog is to say “BFF – I want to bring YOU good tidings of great joy!” God is the One at the top of the list of my best friends. I’m sure He loves it when we check in with Him to talk about the blessings of knowing Him, being loved by Him AND the blessing of His oversight during our travels. Thanks, God, for getting me here safe and sound. We’re tight. He has my attention. I have His. I sincerely want my life to bring Him joy.
But, right after God as my “Bestie”, comes this precious couple who have been there for me and my husband for many years. They walked out some of our toughest health days with constant prayer and support. When I made it to their home here in Tulsa, I didn’t walk in with a laundry list of requests for them. In fact, I brought them some treats to express my love and appreciation to them. Conversation is never a struggle here. We talk for hours on end. We talk about our families, God’s many blessings to us and the good times we’ve had together. And, we laugh hilariously and tear up with thoughts of some of our precious times together.
Can we imagine how God must feel when the only time we go to Him, is only to present Him with our wants, desires, and needs? God is such a good, good Father and He is receptive to each request we make. He loves our hearts of gratitude and thanksgiving. If we know He sees and hears us every time we pray and every time we come to Him with hearts of gratitude, can you imagine how He would feel if we visited with Him as truly our best friend who had wonderful friend-to-friend conversations with each other?
The idea of God as a friend doesn’t diminish the fact that He is our Heavenly Father and we can go to Him any time, any place and for any reason. He is that friend who I can call on when I need His loving arms about me for comfort and healing. Those are the times my ASK is given His undivided attention. We look eye to eye. That’s the way it is for me and these precious Tulsa friends. I do call on them for prayer support and advice, but that’s not all – we have a mutual friendship. I don’t have to incessantly thank them for being my friends. This friendship is understood.
God is our Friend Who is ALWAYS loving and caring, guiding and directing us, so maybe our conversations should start with “Lord, what can I do to bring You joy today?” That simple question will lead to answers. Coming to God as a friend as well as our Heavenly Father draws us into the wonderful relationship Paul talked about in Romans 5:11: “So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.” Wow! You and me are friends of God. That is when I can change the words of Garth’s song to “I’ve got friends in HIGH places!”
John 15:15 – Jesus said, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”