Can We Be Friends?

I met an acquaintance on Saturday 16th December in a public place; and the enthusiasm of meeting a new friend overtook me for the next couple days.

I texted him via WhatsApp, and I couldn’t just wait for him to respond. On 20th, when he hadn’t, I turned to God and told Him, “Will he text back? Why has he taken long? You think he’ll spend time with me?”

I texted asking him indirectly if we could be friends? And the feeling brought so much elation! (For those who might not know, I lost my best friend in 2021; thus this search could partly be rooted in the seeking to fill that void)

In between that swirl, God used my own feelings and words against me:

“Can I be your friend????”

“Excuse me?”

“Will you text me back?” God insisted. . .

And that’s when I broke down having realized what He meant.

… How we yearn, and long to be friends to mere mortals and men, and yet ignore God’s ‘friend requests’ and texts, perhaps because He is invisible.

He asked, “Can we be friends like I was with Abraham? Like David and Jonathan? Like Mary and Elizabeth? Can we be that close? Can we be as each other’s keepers? Will you spend time with me?…” O I could feel His groan.

And I groaned back in weeping saying, “Yes, Yes, Yes!”

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He’ll always use the things of the physical to teach us the things of the Spirit. I pray you are fast enough to understand when He does so. And I pray, your friendship and bond with Him grows deeper than any of your visible relationships. May your friendship with God be as it was with Abraham and more…

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Song of Solomon 5:16b …Yes, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, And this is my friend…