Hey, girls! I want to talk with you about friendship with God.
Meet my friend Cristi. I remember the day she told me that in her teen years God was her best friend. I was glad I was sitting down when she told me that, because I could've fallen over backward from surprise. I'd never heard that from anyone before.
This is her story.
When she was 13, Cristi's family moved to work at Life Action's Christian camp. She had to leave tons of great friends, her church, and her Christian school. Her mom started to homeschool her, she didn't fit in, and she felt pretty lonely.
One day, an older girl shared with Cristi how she had experienced a time when she had no friends. God had said to her, "You should make Me your best friend."
When Cristi heard that, she thought, "That's what I'm going to do!" She started setting aside time to go on "dates" with God. She would grab a yummy snack, burn a candle, and would read the Bible and talk to God. She did that for the entire year. As she did, she began to make friends, but she no longer needed them like she always had before. What I mean is, she wasn't relying on them to meet any needs, because God was meeting all her needs.
She would even often turn down an invitation to go shopping (which she loves to do) in order to hang out with her family or spend time with God.
During that time, Cristi really changed. She had been shy before, but once she started spending time with God and got her eyes off herself, she became confident. She found her worth in God. She was suddenly able to give to other people who needed help. She realized she didn't need a boyfriend. She was getting all she needed from God and was no longer looking to someone else to satisfy her desires.
How about you? Is God your best friend? If not, would you like to work on deepening your friendship with Him? I asked Cristi how you and I could get started, and this is what she suggested:
- Schedule a time. Figure out how to make it special. Cristi always looked forward to her date with God. Sometimes (especially when there were hard things going on in her life) she would spend hours with Him. Other days, she'd just be like, "God, You're so good to me," and would spend fifteen minutes or so with Him.
- Instead of running to someone else about the problems, joys, and events in your life, go to God first. Be honest with Him. Tell Him what you'd tell your friends. After all, He is your friend!
- Read the Word to get encouragement and answers. Cristi would ask God, "Would you encourage me in some way?" Every time she prayed that, God would! Cristi also enjoyed journaling, listening to music, thinking about Him, and sometimes spending time in His creation.
