I don't know how it is for most people, but for me what catches my attention at first is the music itself. I listen first to the melody and harmonies, the instrumentation, the rhythm. If there are words in a song, it usually takes me a couple times of listening to the song to finally start paying attention to the words. It happens sometimes in a song that I really like the music but after listening to the words I don't care for it anymore. Other times the music doesn't appeal to me and the words won't stand a chance! With exceptions of course. Other times the words and the music are just that perfect combination and the song becomes one of my favorites.
I heard a song on the radio a few days ago that really got my attention. The first part of the song has a melody and harmony that are catchy and done well. The second part of the song is a little too noisy for my taste, but has a nice harmony to it as well. Then I started paying attention to the words. I am a friend of God it says.
"There it goes for a nice song" I thought. Sometimes I'm a little unsure of saying that God is my friend. So many times He isn't given the respect and fear that we ought to give Him. We treat God as a buddy, the man upstairs, the old guy up there. Sometimes we treat God a little too familiar and we think of Him as less than who He truly is! This is the God of the universe we're talking about!
But then I started thinking about my close friends. These are people that know me so well and with whom I can share anything. Even my crazy silly thoughts and ideas. I can be myself and be confident that I won't be judged. They love me no matter what. We laugh, we cry, we have dreams and make plans. And even when I don't give them much of my time and attention, they are eager to be with me and share their life with me and the friendship doesn't go away.
And these friends are people I have the utmost respect for. I love them and I want them to be happy. I want the best for them and I want them to find joy in me.
God is like this and so much more. He longs to spend time with me. He is there for me when I'm happy and when I'm sad. He has a strong and comforting embrace available for me whenever I need it. He wants to know all my thoughts and ideas, even my crazy silly ones. He wants to be with me all the time, sharing every aspect of my life. He thinks of me and wants me to be happy. He loves me. I can be myself with Him. I can go to Him with any question, any problem or perplexity and He gives me wisdom and peace. And the Bible says that He takes great delight in me and even rejoices over me with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17) How incredible! The God of the universe breaks out in song because of me!
What a Friend!
The amazing thing is that the more time I spend with God, the more time I want to spend with Him. I really miss it whenever we don't get to talk at the beginning of my day. And the more time we spend together, the more I get to know Him and enjoy this friendship. He is truly my best Friend. How incredible that He wants to be my friend, that He thinks of me and that He loves me! It's amazing!
" Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness; and he was called
God's friend."
James 2:23
"The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend." Exodus 33:11
The modern definition of what it means to be a friend is what makes this so hard to accept. I'm not always a good friend... some of my friends aren't always good to me. Therefore, I think that friend is too common for God. Yet, there it is, in scripture. Like you, when I think of my true friends they are the closest people to me. Accepting me in spite of my faults. In fact, my closest and truest friends are those who accept me even when I'm not the best friend back. I'd like to think that God sees me that way!
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