Choose Your Friends Wisely

I pray every day over Jase’s friends - that God will protect him from the wrong people and surround him with the right people. Friends have such a major impact on our lives and how we turn out, so it’s crucial to surround yourself with like-minded people; with people you want to be more like.

It has been interesting to see how my friendships have changed over time. Recently I was feeling a little sad missing a few friendships and “whining” to Jonathan about it. Jon pointed out that maybe those aren’t friends God wants me to have, and perhaps that is the reason for the distance. After some prayer, I 100% agree. God gave me such an overwhelming peace about not having those friendships anymore, and He reminded me that he has blessed me ABUNDANTLY in the friend department.

Seriously, I have some of the BEST friends! I have been blessed with some incredible friends throughout my entire life, and some for different seasons. I am thankful for those friendships that served their purpose at that time; for the memories; and for what I learned through each of them. I am thankful for the friends who have been there through thick and thin and I know will always be there. I am thankful for the friends who I may not talk to every day, but we can always pick right back up where we left off. And I am thankful for all of the new friendships I have been blessed with in the past year and a half.

But more than anything, right now, I am thankful for the friends God has blessed me with right now.  The Bible tells us that “Iron sharpens iron,” and I truly feel that the people I am surrounded with right now make me better. They encourage me in my faith, they pray with me and for me, they give me Godly counsel, and most importantly, they love the Lord with their whole heart and are always seeking to strengthen their personal relationship with Him. They aren’t worried about having the latest and greatest. They don’t want to go out and party. And when we are together, we don’t spend our time talking about other people as many our age do.

We talk about what the Lord is doing in our life. We talk about goals and ideas and dreams. We support each other & encourage each other. They are positive, thankful, and hard workers. They aren’t catty, negative, judgmental, materialistic, or jealous. I am SO thankful for the example they are for me in my life!!!

The Bible provides very clear instructions on choosing friends.

Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

Proverbs 12:26 One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

Proverbs 13:20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

Proverbs 22:24-25 Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.

1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

Thank you, Lord, for blessing me with great friends.

(I love each of you and so appreciate your friendship!)