23 May, Friday — Forever Friends

Friday of the 5^th Week of Easter

Acts 15:22-31
Jn 15:12-17

“I have called you friends…”

“What a friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!”

I know all of us were humming/singing along as we read the verse above. Come on, you know you were. This simple song was likely one of the earliest Christian songs that I learnt, and I am sure that it is very likely one of yours too. Such simple lyrics, yet so profound. So simple the advice, yet so difficult to follow, especially in these days of noise and distractions.

I know we are supposed to bring all our joys and fears to the Lord, but I would hazard a guess that we bring all our joys and fears to our group of close friends rather than the Lord. I know I am guilty of that as well. Why do I do it? Sometimes it’s just to rant and have someone comfort me, especially those that kind of understand how I feel, or who have been in a similar situation to me before. These ranting sessions are all well and good, but do these sessions really help us? To a certain extent, I guess they do. They give us an outlet to vent and rant and often after, there seems to be a load off my shoulders.

However, we know that the root cause of the situation is still there. I know that only Jesus has the solution. So why don’t I go to Jesus in the first place? Since we were told from young, to “carry everything to God in prayer.”

I guess the reason I don’t do it, is because of my immature faith — that I do not trust in God all the time. I know and I want to put God in the centre of all I do. But I still fail. Especially now at this present time that I feel that I am in a period of spiritual dryness. Quite strange, since we are still celebrating Eastertide, the time of great rejoicing in our Church.

I want to feel and walk with Jesus again. To have a sense that He is next to me in all I do. But I know, deep down in my heart that Jesus is always there. He is there, always reaching out to me, even in those times that I cannot feel Him.

Perhaps that’s what Jesus is telling me that all I need to do now is to start singing…

“O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer!”

(Today’s OXYGEN by Calvin Wee)

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I ask for your forgiveness for not coming to you and carrying everything to you in prayer. Grant me Lord, an open heart, to hear your voice and to feel your embrace as we lift everything and offer them to you. Amen.

Thanksgiving: All merciful Father, thank you for the gift of Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, for your gift of friendship to us. Grant that we may always strive to always sing and tell of our friendship with you. Amen.