Friends of God

Psalm 119:63 - "I am a friend to all who fear you, to all who follow your precepts."

I spoke to a room full of junior highers today. It was a special experience, because two of the junior high students were my children. My daughter introduced me to her peers, and my son sat in a row full of his friends. I chose to speak about the fact that God believes in us. As I spoke I scanned the room.

Do you know what I noticed?

I noticed peer groups. I watched who was sitting with who. And, I thought, as I taught, about the impact that peer groups have on students. In Psalm 119:63, David spoke of being friends with all who fear God and follow his precepts. In other words, those who were friends of God were friends of David. I like that. The closest people in our lives should be those that are friends with God. Can you say that is true of you? Who is it that you count among the closest people in your life.

One of the things that I told our students today was the famous quote, "The biggest difference between you now and five years from now are the books you read, the people you meet, the places you go." Our friends have a huge impact on us. That's one of the reasons that David was so passionate that his friends be people who are friends of God.

Throughout his life, when David was in trouble, he had a group of friends that were faithful to him. They were called his mighty men. David's mighty men were there when King Saul wanted him dead. His mighty men were there when his son planned a coup of David's kingdom. His mighty men were there when David sinned and when David lived a life that glorified God. Friends will do that. They will lift you up when you need it. They will give you a swift kick in the seat of your pants when you need it. They will encourage you and hold you accountable. They will protect you.

So, what kind of friend are you? Make it a priority to become the type of friend that David would have surrounded himself with. And, surround yourself with those friends.

Dear God,

We all need friends. We all need people who will lift us up when we are down. We need friends who will hold us accountable. We need friends who are loyal and true. We need friends who are friends You! Help us to live our lives in such a way that we surround ourselves with these type of people. Help us to be this kind of friend to others.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.