Dear Friends,
A few years ago, I asked God to bless me with some incredible friends who are on fire for Him. He answered my prayer and has brought some amazing people into my life. God’s character is funny and so gracious; I asked Him to bring me friends who would challenge me and help me grow in my faith and He provided that and so much more. They didn’t just walk along side with me through my journey, but they made it fun and exciting! They laughed with me, cried with me and showed me the love of Christ. These past few years, have been the most challenging, but memorable and God provided the friends I needed during that time.
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. - Matthew 7:7 (NIV).
You see, God has a funny way of showing His glory in the most unexpected places. I asked God for inspiring friends and He gave me people who have influenced my life in such an amazing way.
For example, earlier today I went to a “Training Day” that was hosted by one of my close friends. She told me to bring my workout clothes and my Bible and meet her at her house. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I got ready and left. When I got there, she took us to a park nearby and told us that we were training our bodies and spirit today. She had us run to one side of the field and back, three times. When we came back, she told us to think about the struggles we are going through and the weakness we have. After we thought about them for a minute, we said them out loud. Without hesitation, she said that our enemy, the devil, is very real; he is out to kill, steal and destroy us. He will do everything to use our weaknesses against us to destroy our faith and trust in God.
We then got up, ran again and then came back. She then told us we have to know our enemy to know his strategies, but we also have to know our God to see the truth. God is light and when the name of Jesus is spoken, the darkness must flee. Again, we got up, ran, did some push-ups and then came back. She wanted to challenge us, so she said go to a corner of the park and pick any verse or passage in the Bible and read it out loud so the whole neighborhood can hear. I’m not going to lie, but I was a little nervous for this part, but when I started reading out of 1 Peter, my voice became louder and louder.
Those are the type of friendships I asked God for and it’s funny how He went above and beyond. I have had multiple people in my life who have challenged me like that and those are the people who will impact your life forever.
I want to encourage you to ask God for those types of friendships because they will have a lasting impact on your life. They will help you grow together, inspire each other and encourage each other to never lose sight of Christ.
So I challenge you to grow and dig deeper into your current friendships and to keep Christ as the center of them. If you don’t have friendships like that, then I urge you to ask God for them. God longs for you to speak to Him and He will send people into your life to help you flourish, all you have to do is ask with a humble heart.
Sincerely,
Miranda
