Thankful for Friends

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Scripture:

Nehemiah 4:12 When the Jews who lived near them came, they said to us ten times, “From all the places where they live they will come up against us.”

Observation:

Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem were trying to rebuild the walls. Detractors from every side were determined to sabotage their work. While the plans of the enemies included the psychological work of demoralizing the workers, at the same time, there were friends. Jews in the surrounding cities and maybe even to Samaria had their eyes and ears open, scouting out the plans of the detractors. Over and again they came to Nehemiah and told him what they had learned. This information was incredibly useful and allowed for them to set up a defense so that the work of building the wall could continue. It was the faithfulness of the friends living in the hinterlands and their determined efforts to bring news to Jerusalem over and over again, which gave Nehemiah a strategy for protection and successful completion of the walls.

Application:

We all need friends! The friends of Jerusalem were willing to put themselves in danger to help the work continue. The work would never have been completed without them and when we find ourselves in trouble, we, too, need friends!

Or, we may need to be the friend.

This business of life can sometimes be incredibly difficult. It’s too hard to go it all alone and we need those who are willing to come alongside us and help us make it. There are others that need us to do the same thing.

There are many scenarios where this may be played out and this may include our own personal lives. But it may also be a corporate response to the evil that our friends may be confronting. These may be our friends down the street, across town, on the other side of the country, or on the other side of the world. The scenarios are too many to mention but we may each find ourselves in a place where we need to consider the place of friends.

If you need a friend today — be willing to let them in and minister to you and your needs. If there is someone that needs your friendship — then go out of your way to be of help. It’s a good time to be thankful for friends.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for the friends you’ve placed in my life. Help me to be a faithful friend in return.  Amen.

If you would like to read more "Reflecting the Image"  click on the image to take you to the NPH bookstore.The book is also available in Kindle format on Amazon.com.



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