We are all looking for love. We want to be accepted by others and be appreciated. We try to find the one who can meet this need, usually in a marriage relationship.
If we have been raised in a warm and loving home, it seems easier for us to give and receive love. We do so without thought about it, accepting ourselves and others as they are, faults and all. If we have been deeply hurt, however, the love is more difficult to come by.
If we have decided to follow Jesus and have asked Him to take charge of our lives, we feel we have someone we can trust, yet the complete assurance of His love for us and our complete love for Him takes many years to develop.
I had become fearful because I was to appear as a guest on a television show. It was more than fear gripping my heart - it was sheer terror! As I wrestled with this in prayer asking for peace, eventually a deep peace settled upon me and a quiet voice whispered, "I am the Prince of Peace" (Isa.9:6 LB). For the first time I understood the meaning of that title, realizing our only true peace comes from above. The fear did not return, and the interview was carried out without any problem.
A few days later, the knowledge came to me that I indeed had a Friend who would never fail. I could tell Him my deepest secrets and He, in turn, would flood my spirit with a special assurance of His presence. I could ask direction and, if I obeyed Him and sought His divine will, He would speak to me.
Sometimes after we have been close to this great Friend, we seem to settle into a few hours or a day when we feel very down. Satan tries to take away our peace telling us Jesus has left us and doesn't care for us any more. Jesus knew this is the way the enemy of our souls operates, so before He left the world He prayed to His Father very earnestly that His own people would be protected during such times. "My prayer is...to keep them safe from Satan's power" (John 17:15,26). He also prayed "that the mighty love you have for me may be in them, and I in them" (John 17:26).
Our great Friend is a true friend who never leaves us or forsakes us (Heb.13:5). Jesus is with me when I know and feel His presence, but when the enemy tries to separate us, Jesus is praying for me day and night that I will not fall (Heb.7:25). Knowing this, all I need to do is use my own will to be obedient to His commands and my Friend will always be faithful to me - not just sometimes, but ALWAYS!
Jesus is the 'Rock of Ages' because He is the One on whom man has been able to count on from the beginning. He is like a rock, strong and sure even in the midst of the storms of life.
Those who build their lives upon this Rock and learn to trust this great Friend are also able to trust humans to a greater extent. They feel more secure in their marriages and human relationships than those who haven't learned to trust the One who formed them in their mother's womb.
We need, in our day, to get to know Jesus as a personal Friend. We need to spend time talking to Him but, as with all friends, we don't do ALL the talking! We don't inflict that on our human friends, so why should we insult the greatest Friend in this way? We need to learn to be quiet and listen to His still, small voice giving us words of encouragement and advice.
Just as a human friend is sometimes jealous of another of our friends, so Satan doesn't like us having Jesus as a Friend and tries every tactic to interfere. As we begin to pray or read our Bible, we are reminded of a million things we should be doing, and that we just haven't time today to be with Jesus. However, a good friend never leaves a good friend, and Jesus patiently waits for us, hoping against hope that we will find the time to talk to Him and listen to what He wants to tell us.
If we truly are His good friend, surely we will want to spend time with Him!
© 1999, Doreen Palmer