Maneuvers - No. 40
The Friend You
Always Wanted
Do you have a best friend, friend?
You know, that person you can share all your secrets with, spend all your time with, and trust no matter what. If you have a person like that in your life, you know what a blessing it is.
And yet, whether we have a best friend or not, deep down, we all crave that kind of friendship. We long for a friend we can be completely honest with. Someone who will never let us down or betray us. Someone who will defend us, protect us, comfort us, and inspire us.
We were made for that kind of friendship. But no human being can fulfill that longing within us. No single person can meet our expectations for the perfect friend… because we’re all imperfect.
The only one who can truly satisfy our longing for a best friend is Jesus.
He doesn’t abandon us at our lowest. He doesn’t judge us for being honest with him. He doesn’t stab us in the back after years of loyalty.
Instead, he comes close when we feel unlovable. He speaks life when we feel dead inside. And he sits with us quietly when we just need to grieve.
That’s a friend worth having, don’t you think? A friend worth trusting?
Today, Holy Spirit is calling us to that kind of sweet friendship with Jesus.
Yes, it will demand our time and trust. But a close connection with our heavenly Father is always worth the risk of vulnerability.
So… will you join us in saying yes to Holy Spirit’s invitation today?
01.
The Message
“There is not a limit to my love. There is not a limit to my capacity to hold all things. There is not a limit of energy, of time, of possibility. Not for me. All things begin and end with me. What questions do you have for me—about the world? About your heart? About your hurts and distress? What are you hoping will change? What are you enjoying and wish you enjoyed more?
Let me hold all of your questions. Let me hold all of your concerns. My answers are not what you expect. They are better. I am better than what you have ever dreamed.
I am worth wasting time with. I am worth your time, your efforts, your plans. Do you want more of me in your life? Do you want to learn to dream again?
Take a risk and turn your gaze to me. Turn to consider my character, my personality, my promises, my desires for you to be free. You can trust me—trust in love that never ends.
Let me be your sounding board when you are hurt. Let me be the friend you talk to when you need companionship or wisdom or hope. Let me be the Father who never leaves you, never disappoints you, never shames you, never wishes you were different than you are.
I delight in being your God, your Lord, your King, your joy, your hope, your rest, your peace, your healer, your protector, your redeemer, your warrior, your life. See how I am Life. Light shining in all the dark places for you.”
02.
Listen
Holy Spirit just gave us a list of things he loves to be for us. Read that last paragraph one more time to let those words sink in. How do those titles impact you? Let’s pull out our journals and pen a prayerful response to the Lord.
03.
Think
“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15, ESV).
1. In today’s message, Holy Spirit said, “There is not a limit to my love.” In what ways is it hard to believe that truth? What limits do you unconsciously place on God’s love for you?
2. How do those “limits” keep you from trusting God fully and enjoying friendship with him?
3. Let’s read John 15:12-13, Romans 8:35, and Jeremiah 31:3. How do these verses describe God’s love for you? How do they speak to the fears and lies you described earlier?
04.
Trust
Friendship demands a risk. Always.
It requires vulnerability, loyalty, and trust. When we commit to a friendship, we’re choosing to believe the other person will be a loyal friend to us. When we open up to them, we trust them not to dismiss our feelings or give us bad advice.
It’s no different with our heavenly Father. Trusting him still feels like a risk, doesn’t it? We can know in our minds that he’s perfect and faithful. But it’s another thing entirely to believe it deep in our hearts.
Let’s look at someone whom Scripture calls a “friend of God”:
“And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’—and he was called a friend of God” (James 2:23, ESV).
The Bible tells us clearly that Abraham trusted God. But was that always easy for him to do?
How do you think Abraham felt when God called him to leave everything he knew and travel the land with his family? What about God’s promise that Abraham would have a son with Sarah, even in their old age? Could that have been hard to trust, too? And can you imagine what Abraham felt when the Lord told him to sacrifice his son—the very one God promised him?
As hard as it may have been for Abraham, he still chose to believe God. It was a risk. But it was a risk Abraham was willing to take. Could it be that this is why he had such a beautiful friendship with God?
We, too, can choose to take the risk of trusting Jesus completely.
What would it be like to invite him into every area of our lives? To waste time with him (with no agenda except to be with him)? To pour out our hearts to him and let him speak to us? To trust him to rescue us when we feel lost and confused?
Right now, let’s pull out a pen and paper and describe what we think the perfect friend is. We can write adjectives like “loyal” or “honest” or we can write actions like “sticks up for me when others hurt me”—whatever feels most natural.
Let’s take another look at our list. Do any of these descriptions sound like Jesus? Could they describe our friendship with our heavenly Father?
Now, let’s take this list and turn it into a prayer, thanking Jesus for being each of those things to us. For example, if we wrote “loyal” on our list, then we could pray, “Jesus, thank you for being loyal to me even when I feel alone.” Or if we wrote “fun to be around,” we could pray, “Thank you for always showing me something new and interesting. I love it when you speak to me.”
How did this exercise affect your view of Jesus as your friend? Did Holy Spirit reveal anything new to your heart? If so, let’s respond to him in prayer…
05.
Pray
Lord, thank you for being the perfect friend to me. The one I can trust in anything. The one I could spend all day with and never get bored.
Thank you for being my God, my King, my joy, my hope, my rest, my peace, my healer, my protector, my redeemer, my warrior, my life. You are my life, the light shining in all the dark places of my heart.
Where I’ve been afraid to take the risk of letting you in, forgive me. Thank you for being patient with me and loving me so purely. Help me trust you more than ever, letting you see even the most vulnerable parts of who I am.
I love you so much, Lord. I love you. I love you.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Waving the banner with you,
