The Words of a Friend

The encouraging words of a friend are worth more than gold. I know that the encouraging words that my friends give me keep me going. I look on them as blessings directly from heaven above. I thank God for them (the words and the friends) and I thank my friends for building me up with words that edify according to the need of the moment (Ephesians 4:29).

Many of you continue to respond to Barnabas Notes with words of thanks and encouragement to me. I want to use this issue to say, “Thank you,” and to tell you that those comments are deeply appreciated. BN started out to be a word of encouragement to my friends (and I hope that it has been to all who have read it), but it has also been a source of comfort and strength for me through your responses.

Solomon wrote: A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity (Proverbs 17:17). You do not need me to tell you how important a friend is. Scripture is full of passages that tell us that God will watch over us and not allow us to endure more than we are able; that we ought to approach the throne of grace to find grace to help in time of need (2 Corinthians 12:9; Hebrews 4:16; 1 Corinthians 10:13). One of the ways that God provides this care and protection is through the friends that surround us. Solomon’s point is that a friend, a true friend, loves you no matter what happens; will stick with you through thick and thin. I said at the beginning that the encouraging words of a friend are worth more than gold. However, sometimes the worth of a friend is not seen in his (or her) words, but in his (or her) presence. Sometimes just knowing that someone is there is enough to get you through a difficult situation.

Americans live in a culture that was built by “rugged individualism.” We are a freedom-loving people and we do not want anyone fooling around with our freedom and independence. One thing we want to be careful of, however, is letting our pride shut out our friends. Sometimes when we get into a tough situation, we do not want to ask for help or cry out at all because that would not be in keeping with the rugged individual. We do not want to take charity! Did you know that “charity” is a word that means “love”? I realize that we do not want to be perceived as someone who always has their hand out, but the “charity” of our friends is a star in their crowns and a blessing to them. If we deny them the opportunity to bless us, we deny them a blessing, as well.

Let me encourage you to let God help you and bless you through the friends who are around you. Now, we need to recognize that such a blessing is only going to come through those friends who encourage you according to God’s will. It is not a blessing when your friends encourage you to go against God’s will. Still, when you are in trouble, when you are besieged from every angle, let your friends be a help and a support to you, always remembering to pray for God’s help, too. He loves you and so do I.

Donnie Bates