What A Friend We Have In Jesus
TiffanyAnn Lewis

The other day I had an early appointment.  I don’t usually make appointments that early because mornings are my set aside time with the Lord.  My heart was heavy and tears began to sting my eyes as I pulled myself away from the Word of God to get ready to leave.  I asked the Lord why I was so weepy.  I felt Him say, “You have learned what it means to abide in Me.”  

“Abide in Me, and I in you.”  (Jn. 15:4a)  In Greek, this word ‘abide’ means:  to remain, to sojourn, tarry, not to depart, to continue to be present, to be held, kept, continually. (Strongs #3306)   

God is omnipresent, meaning He is uniquely present everywhere at once.  Yes, I can bring him with me, but I didn’t want to leave abiding with Him in His word to go to my appointment.  It’s like when you’re going to visit your best friend.  You can’t wait to get there, just to sit with her and chat over a cup of coffee.  It’s so hard to pull yourself away when it’s time to go.  You are abiding together.  You’re sharing what’s going on in your lives physically, emotionally and spiritually.  Yes, you can take her with you in your heart, but you would rather stay with her and be in her presence.

My morning devotions with the Lord have become just like having a cup of coffee with my best friend.  We are building a relationship together.  I am not trying to know more but rather to know Him more.  In Matt. 7:22-23 Jesus gives us an example of this type of relationship saying, “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me…”      In Greek, the word knew (Strongs #1097) means: to learn, to get a knowledge of, to perceive, to feel, to become known, to become acquainted with.  It has the same meaning in both the Greek and Hebrew.  It is a Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse between a man and a woman as found in Genesis 4:1, “Now Adam knew Eve his wife and she conceived and bore Cain…” (Strongs #3045).  It defines a classic, well-balanced relationship between two people who have become acquainted with each other. 

Relationships are held together by love, not service.  James says, “Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (Jas. 2:18b)  Our works and service should demonstrate our faith, but what demonstrates our love, our devotion?  Clearly the people in Jesus’ parable served, but did they love?  And if they did, did they show it?  They knew the power behind the Name, but they didn’t know the personality behind the power.  Maybe they were too busy casting out demons and performing miracles to sit down and have a cup of coffee with Him.  I believe the Lord Jesus desires a relationship with someone whose heart screams, “I love You God for who You are; what You can do is just a cherry on top!”   

Speaking in tongues of angels, having the gift of prophecy, understanding all mysteries and knowledge, having faith to move mountains, selling all your material possessions to give money to the poor, and even offering your body to be sacrificed for the sake of the gospel is superb, excellent, awesome; but…if we don’t have love, it all means nothing.  Everything will cease, every gift, every miracle, every sermon, every good deed, everything.  The only thing that will remain is what is the greatest of all…love. (See 1 Cor. 13:1-3, 8, 13)   

Doing the work of the kingdom never substitutes for abiding with the King of the kingdom.  Maybe these that the Lord makes reference to put serving Him before spending time with Him.  “I’ve got a prophetic word to deliver at 10, a miracle service at 11, and an exorcism at noon.  Let’s meet in between the miracle and the exorcism.”  While that makes me chuckle, put it in a different context and it might look something like this; in between appointments, before eating dinner, or here’s a classic, while on the toilet with a bible in your hand.   

While these times are undoubtedly profitable uses of maximizing our 24 hours, if it is the primary expression of love and affection, it probably won’t help cultivate a meaningful relationship.  I can appreciate someone for calling me on their cell phone between dropping the kids off and going to work just to say, “hey,” but I’m not going to share the depths of my heart, my hopes and dreams, and my plans for the future in that drive-by-hi.   

Yet this is exactly what our friend, Jesus desires to reveal to those who seek Him with all their heart, rather than with whatever time they have leftover.  “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jer. 29:11-13)   God has thoughts that He wants to share with us.  He wants to enter into a real relationship with us and to share love, peace, comfort, and joy beyond anything we can comprehend, no matter what we are going through at this present time.  

It still takes a lot of strength for me to pull myself out of bed early, for I am a deep sleeper.  Yet I have discovered that “in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Ps. 16:11)   So I set the alarm clock in order to carve out time for Him in my heart and in my day.  The time of day isn’t important.  What’s important is that you set time aside to abide with your friend, Jesus.  Amen.