You've Got to Have Friends
Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up. Proverbs 12:25
Proverbs speaks often about how a kind word can lift our spirit. If you have a friend who does this for you, or if people have offered a kind word at the right time in your life, you know the value of this proverb. It’s one way in which an anxious heart can feel God’s presence.
Today I’m feeling especially grateful for the friends who so richly bless my life. They have given me words of comfort, wisdom, and humor at just the right times.
Yet if I know that, there is a simple question I should ask myself: To who am I that kind of friend?
To whose anxious heart do I listen and offer a word of encouragement? Who do I go to see (and not simply wait for them to come to me)? If all of us waited for someone else to be that kind of friend, none of us would ever receive the kind word Proverbs talks about.
And you know what is interesting? The more we step out to be that kind of person for someone else—as hard as it may be, given the weight of our own hearts—the more we feel connected to Jesus, Who always reached out to others, and now reaches out to us.
Now, may Jesus help us reach out in friendship …
Lord, I know the value of kind encouragement for my soul. Thank you for times when I have seen You in that. Please help me to offer kindness and encouragement to someone today. In Jesus’ name Amen.