Proverbs 17:17 “Friends love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble.” Today's episode explores one characteristic of a Godly Friendship. Godly Friends are faithful. They are with you through everything, not just there when things are good. They help you on your way to holiness instead of holding you back from it. Music: "Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Godly Friends Are Faithful
Proverbs 17:17 “Friends love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble.”
The theme for this month’s mentoring is Godly Friendships. I wanted to share with you that one of the characteristics of a Godly Friend is Faithfulness. Today’s scripture states, “Friends love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble.” The main point of this scripture is that true friends remain loyal to you through every season. If you have a Godly Friend, they are faithful. I am guessing that we have all had friends whom we thought were really good friends, and then we found out that they were talking about us when we were not around, or they were there in the good times, but not there when we really needed them.
I remember reading this somewhere once, and I thought it was so true. It said that you should be careful about talking with your friends about someone who isn’t there, because if they talk about them when they aren’t there, then why wouldn’t they talk about you when you aren’t there? Additionally, if you are the one initiating the conversation, they may not trust you because they might think you're talking about them when they’re not there. Gossip is not good. It destroys friendships; it does not bring people closer. If you have friends who enjoy gossiping, that is not a Godly friendship. Or, that part of it is not Godly anyway. I have some friends who are wonderful people and they do help me become more holy. However, we are also human so we can get sucked into gossiping occasionally. The difference is that we notice it and we remind ourselves that is not who we want to be. That is not who God wants us to be.
There is a significant difference between sharing information with people out of concern and wanting them to pray for that person, and gossiping. The main difference is your motive. Why are you saying something about someone? Are you saying it because you care about that person and want to help them, or are you saying something because you want to feel superior to that person, or you want to be the one to contribute some gossip to the group? I have realized that even if you think you are doing a good thing by sharing something with others so that they can pray for that person, sometimes it is better to ask them to pray for a private intention. God knows what the person needs, and it is not your story to tell.
Another way to determine if you have Godly friends is to see if they are there for you during all seasons, as the verse suggests. Sometimes we can have friends who love to hang out when things in our lives are going really well. They want to go out and have a good time. They want to go to dinner or drinks and talk about how great things are. However, when things aren’t going so well, they don’t want to be there to listen. They are not calling you when you are sick or dropping soup off. When things are tough, they hang out with their other friends who are doing well.
Also, when things are going well for them, they can’t wait to tell you about it. They brag about all the good that is happening in their life while you are suffering in your life. Godly friends will pick you up when you are down. They will continually point you back to God. Godly friends will meet you where you are at, they will comfort you when you are struggling, and they will love you too much to let you stay there.
It is not a Godly friendship to sit and complain about everything together. I am not saying you always have to be positive; there are times when you can lament your situation. However, Godly friends will help pull you out of the negative mindset instead of joining you in it. They will listen to your problems and then remind you of how great our God is. They will pray with you and for you. They will remind you of all that God has done in the past and will do again. God is the same yesterday, today, and always. (Hebrews 13:8) If He did it for those who came before us, He will do it for us too!
Godly friends will also help you out when you need something. They will offer you a ride to the airport or to work. They will help out when you are sick by bringing food over or watching the kids so you can go to the hospital. There are many ways that friends can help out when you are in need. Something else that is really nice with Godly friends is that they won’t wait for an invitation. They won’t wait until you ask them to bring a meal over. They are the first ones to offer. They will also sometimes drop by with it. They won’t ask because they know you won’t want to be a bother, so you would say no even though you could really use the help.
I had a friend when we moved to Germany that we had known from a previous base we were stationed at. My friend was really struggling with the move to Germany. She had so much to do, and her husband had to have a minor surgery right when we got there. It wasn’t a bad surgery, but he couldn’t do any lifting. This meant she had to do most of the unpacking. She was tired, and her youngest was about 2-3 years old, so they were right in the thick of toddler years. She was exhausted from the move and from having two young kids. I called one day to see if she wanted to take the kids out somewhere, as I had three little ones at the time, too.
She broke down. She was crying and tired and said she couldn’t go anywhere because she was so overwhelmed. Luckily, it was a weekend, and Tony was home, so he stayed with our boys, and I went over to her house to watch her kids while she took a nap. We were good friends, so she knew I wasn’t going to judge that her house wasn’t completely unpacked yet. She knew I wasn’t going to judge her for needing a nap. She would have never asked me to do that, and yet she so needed it and was so grateful when she woke up and felt a bit more refreshed.
We are called to be a reflection of Christ to our friends, and we are called to find others who will reflect Christ back to us. So, when you are wondering if you are in a Godly friendship, you can ask yourself, “Is this person a reflection of God?” Another great question to ask is, “When I am with this person, am I a reflection of God?” Because sometimes, if it is not a Godly friendship, then they might bring out the worst in you, instead of the best. I have definitely had friendships where they brought out the worst in me. I wanted to join in their conversations, so I needed to have something negative to say about everything. That was not a Godly friendship. Godly friendships always point you back to God!
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that you bless all those listening to this episode. Lord, help us to find Godly friends. We know you did not create us to be alone, so please help put the right people in our path. Please help us to know whether someone is a Godly friend. Please help us stay away from those who will just hurt us—those who will drag us down instead of lifting us up. Lord, point us to the friends who will help us grow in holiness, and we can help them grow too! We love you, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. For more information on Godly Friendships, you can join the mentoring session on Zoom every Tuesday at 8 PM Eastern Time. There is a link in the show notes, check it out! I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day.
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in January 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, "I am the master. I know all. I know what is best to give each one of you. I only ask that you open the door of your heart so that you may receive all my goodness, all that is good, all my understanding, but you need only open your heart.”