Be A Friend of Joy

Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  If you’ve chosen your friends wisely, they may remind you when you forget to drink in the JOY of the Lord! 

A good friend can be highly motivating! Don’t you enjoy being around a person who builds you up and encourages you to be all that God created you to be…yet keeps you accountable?  You are blessed if you have someone in your life that can see your strengths and gifts, and encourages you to use them.  Sometimes our close friends can see potential in us that we don’t see ourselves. 

Though not one of us is perfect, a genuine friend looks past our imperfections and loves us anyway. Godly friends push us closer to Jesus, sharing what they are learning from the Word of God and from personal experiences as they try to apply those principles.  They help us to walk through the tough times by being beside us, praying with us and reminding us that “we can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens us”.  Philippians 4:13

When one of my best friends found out she had cancer, she called me on the phone.  I knew by the sound of her voice that the news wasn’t good, so I dropped everything and went to her house.  Do you know what we did?  We sat on the sofa and cried together. And when we got past that, we prayed together.  In the months to come, we had some tough times, but God was always there and we found His joy in the midst of it all.

Reach out to the wonderful friends God has placed in your life and let them know how much you love and care for them.  Be an instrument of joy in the Lord and grow together in His wisdom and love.