Regardless of the cheesiness, I agree with the point of the song; friends are put around us for a multitude of reasons. Unlike the song, I agree with the reasons that Scripture points out more than any others. Two in particular are found in Proverbs 15:22; "without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed" and Ecclesiastes 4:12; "a threefold cord is not quickly broken." God graciously reminded me of these two truths through a simple text-message from one of the brothers in my band (band of brothers not musical group).
To preface the text message, I will recall the post about the book I was reading about hell. I finished the book two nights ago, but I can't escape the second of the two themes. The first theme addressed how our view of God and the work of Christ are enhanced because of the doctrine of hell. Hell points to the full reality of the holiness of God, while also reminding us of the amazing grace we receive through Christ. (Emphasis added for the sake of my mother who loves this word.) This theme alone could take up a multitude of posts. The second theme presents the response of all Christians to the reality of hell; committed to sharing the good news of the gospel because that is exactly what it is! As God reveals the extent of His holiness and grace, our desire should be for others to experience them as well.
The Spirit has been grinding this idea into my head and heart over the past two days. He has been bombarding me with names and faces of friends and loved ones outside of God's saving grace. Instead of time spent sleeping, I have been burdened to spend more time praying for those I know (and those I don't) to have the veil lifted from their eyes. On Tuesday night, He convicted me to email one friend in particular. I have known this friend since high school, but failed to be the salt and light Christ calls us to be. I felt excited about the idea, and promised to do it in the morning (first mistake) or later in the day (second mistake). By the time Wednesday morning rolled around, I successfully "unconvicted" myself to write the email. Feeling rather discouraged, I brought up the situation to my band of brothers at our weekly Bible study. They committed themselves to praying that I would not only listen to the Spirit, but act upon His leadings. One friend, however, decided to push the envelope even further.
First, he verbally rebuked me in a gentle, yet firm manner. I don't remember the exact words, but they were along the lines of "stop listening to yourself and just do it!" Simple yet profound. As I let those words bounce around in my head, I put the issue aside for the night as another friend needed my attention. Being the "absent minded professor" that I occasionally am, I went through the entire day without giving a thought to writing the email. Thankfully my friend did not. Within 10 minutes of coming home from work I received a text-message from him. It wasn't long or even overly persuasive. The screen simply read, "email your friend yet?" Without another word, I jumped on my computer and starting writing the email. What is more, my mom called while I was in the middle of writing to share some prayer requests of her own. When she was finished I felt compelled to share what I was currently doing with her. Being the wonderful, God-fearing woman that she is, she prayed with me over the phone that I would be given the words to say and the grace by which to say them. All in all, I finished the email and had my roommate look it over to ensure I was speaking the truth in love. As of now, it has been sent. I am simply waiting for the reply, whatever that might be. Until then (and after), I thank God for friends. For when my plan was just my own, it failed miserably. But when I decided to seek my "many advisers," it produced much fruit.
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