But forget all that – it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
Isaiah 43:18-19 NLT
God is constantly doing new things, yet fear of past shadows informed by bad memories can inspire an overdeveloped sense of self-preservation within me. This means I may tend to surrender faith in God for self-reliance.
Exercising confidence in God, who remains unseen apart from through the eye of faith, can be physically and emotionally challenging. Yet, this is the workshop within which our faith is purified. Much relies on our own perception of the nature of our friendship with God. Have you ever asked yourself: “How deeply do I desire my friendship with God?”
Every relationship is tested, and its continuance is partly dependent on my reaction and responses over time. We can fail to see a friend for quite a while. Yet, when we reconnect, it’s as if we’ve never been apart. Other relationships we thought were close and important fade over time and prove only to have been instrumental for a season.
The great news is that God never changes and that despite my failings, his love for me is steady and complete. This is the declaration made by one of my favourite hymns, “Great is thy faithfulness”.
As in all friendships, it takes time to build up trust, yet God has demonstrated complete trust in us through the gift of Jesus. God’s invitation to us is to make a positive and practical response. Then, somewhat like learning to swim, we must entrust ourselves to the buoyancy of the water and learn how to master a stroke that will carry us through the sea of life. It is tiring, most certainly, but we can find an intimate friendship with the creator of all that sustains us through every turn of life.
QUESTION
How close or distant is your friendship with God?
PRAYER
Thank you for being my “forever friend” and for wanting to be close beside me even when I have been cool and distant in my relationship with you.
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