As a young child, I had no concept of what a friend in faith was. When I was younger, I went to church pretty consistently. I would try my best to pay attention, but never felt a personal connection to the sermon. It was hard to stay engaged and I never felt the message resonate with me. Maybe I was too young or just hadn’t experienced enough life to feel a connection.
However, it wasn’t until my 20s, that I started my own faith walk. I decided to go to the same church in my college town that a lot of my friends attended. As I sat there, I felt like the pastor spoke directly to me. The sermon was exactly about some aspect of my life, like someone ran my business to him and he used it as an example.
I began to understand what it felt like to give my problems to God and pray through what I had going on. During that time I was stressed, trying to get into medical school for the first time, dealing with confusing college relationships, etc. Every Sunday, though, I applied the message to my life and I felt better every time.
My faith grew even more when I found a friend in faith. I started participating in an unofficial bible study every week with four other young Black women. We would meet for dinner and discussed the sermon from that week. We all were chasing goals, meeting barriers, and dealing with setbacks in life. But having these friends to discuss problems with, through faith, alleviated these stressors. We bounced ideas off each other and felt better knowing that we weren’t alone in our struggles.
My experience of finding a friend in faith, or a group of friends, reminds me of the story of Ruth and Naomi. Naomi lost her sons and Ruth lost her husband. In Ruth 1:16, Naomi encouraged Ruth to return to her family, but Ruth replied “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God”.
They both experienced hardships, but because they had each other, were able to bounce back and experience success. Their relationship was reciprocal and they both used their own experiences to care for the other.
I would like to use these weekly devotionals in the same manner. The bible tells us that “Two are better than one” in Ecclesiastes 4:9. We are all going through something while trying to be successful at the same time. It’s a stressful time, but having a friend in faith might make this walk a little easier. Proverbs 13:20 says “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm”.
As I share my stories and lessons learned, I hope you find some similarities in our struggles. Let’s walk this journey together, and lean on God when life overwhelms us and tests our faith. As you read these, share your thoughts below, or on Twitter. Also, subscribe for post notifications and Motivational Monday emails.
Ruth 1:11-19 (NIV)
(11) But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have anymore sons, who could become your husbands? (12) Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons—(13) would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me!”
(14) At this they wept aloud again. Then Oprah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.
(15) “Look”, said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her god. Go back with her.”
(16) But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. (17) Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me”. (18) When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-13 (NIV)
(9) Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: (10) If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. (11) Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? (12) Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Proverbs 13:20-21 (NIV)
(20) Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm. (21) Trouble pursues the sinner, but the righteous are rewarded with good things.
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