My three year old son and I often go on walks around our neighborhood. Throughout certain times of the year, our neighbors put up outdoor decorations for the season. However, as the seasons change, the decorations come down. One day, when we started on our walk, my son asked me, “Mom, where did the decorations go?” I explained that they were put away because the seasons were changing; yet as we continued on our walk, and saw more houses without decorations, he kept asking me the same question. As I continued to give him the same answer, I was wondering to myself why he kept asking me that over and over, knowing what I was going to say. In that moment, God opened my eyes to the fact that I am just like my son. I often find myself asking God the same questions over and over again, even though He’s already given me the answers.  Some of these questions are things like, “Why did You let that happen?” “Do You hear my prayers?” or “Do You even care that my heart is breaking?”

The answers to all these questions are found in God’s Word and although they remain the same, we continue to ask the same questions. Most of the time, we don’t get exact answers to our questions, but these truths are the only answers we need. When we wonder why He allows something bad to happen, He answers us in Romans 8:28: “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.” When we doubt He hears our prayers, He lovingly tells us in Psalm 34:15, “The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and His ears toward their cry.” And when we wonder if He cares about us, we’re reminded in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
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It’s easy to memorize and say these truths, but we have to take it a step further and believe them. Oftentimes, we don’t believe them because we don’t feel like they’re true when tragedy strikes. Thankfully, God and His word never change and their validity is not based on how we feel about them. They are ALWAYS true!

As my son and I were finishing our walk that day, he randomly said to me, “I know why the decorations are put away,” and he repeated the exact answer I told him five times. My heart was so happy when I realized that he heard and accepted the truth of what I told him.  Like my son, I want to stop questioning God when bad things happen, and instead believe and claim the truths of God’s word.

Who are your friends?  When I was 12 years old, I went shopping with a few friends. In one of the stores there was a table with jewelry on it. The most eye-catching pieces were bracelets made of twisted and curved wire that spelled out names. (At that time, they were new and unique!) I was excited because several bracelets spelled my name! My friends wanted me to get one - actually, they encouraged me, well…they challenged me to get one by sticking it in my pocket and taking it!

​Fast forward several years to a time when I was telling a friend (not one who was shopping with me!) that I was taking my 6-year old daughter to the doctor for results of a severe infection and we were concerned about the outcome. My friend, Donna, replied, “I will be on my knees praying for you.” And she was! Another time, my friend, Kim, repeatedly listened to the difficult situation that I was experiencing and rather than let me focus on myself or my problems redirected my focus by asking, “God is always at work, where do you see Him working right now?” These two friends listened and encouraged me to focus on Jesus; encouraging a life of faith and trust and NOT a life of crime!

In Luke 2:17-26, we see a beautiful picture of true friendship. Jesus was teaching in a house and people traveled from every town of Galilee, Judea and Jerusalem to be near Him “and the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick” (vs 17).  Four friends carried their paralyzed friend on a mat to see Jesus. The house was overflowing with people and there was no way to get through the crowd to get to Jesus - but these friends persevered! They went up onto the housetop, made an opening in the roof and lowered their friend right in front of Jesus!

Scripture never said that this man wanted to be healed or believed he could be healed. It doesn't even say that he asked his friends to take him to Jesus. What we do know is that these friends had faith that Jesus could heal him; they loved their friend enough that they were willing to get involved and carried him to the feet of Jesus, the Healer.

“When Jesus saw their “friends’” faith, He said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven….I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.’ Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God”  (Luke 5:20, 24 NIV). The faith of these friends led to their action of taking their paralytic friend to Jesus and he was healed, then “everyone was amazed and gave praise to God” (vs 25).

Friends are very influential - they can either encourage us away from Jesus or toward Jesus. Do you have a friend or family member who is hurting or going in the wrong direction and isn’t asking for help? Through prayer, you can be the friend who carries them to the feet of Jesus.

(By the way, in case you are wondering, I did NOT steal a bracelet! Over the years, I have wondered how my life would have changed if I had given into peer pressure that day.)