The Unexpected Companion

For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in. Psalm 27:10

My birthday ended in a pool of tears.

On a day that should have been the yearly celebration of what God has done in my life thus far, I learned a hard truth: a friend that I had for years had unfriended me on social media. As silly as it may seem, this unfriending was more than a simple click of a button for her. I believe it was the final culmination of a friendship that had officially run its course. After all, she was still friends with everyone else we mutually knew. This unfriending was intentional and her way of completely ending the friendship. This relationship had already been torn from a series of misunderstandings, hurts, and broken expectations. The ending of this friendship sent me into a dark place of wondering, how many more relationships I could lose. Deep feelings of regret and loneliness shadowed my mind as I started to replay everything that had transpired and faced the mourning of a friendship that was once closer than a family bond.

In the weeks following, I learned that grief comes in all forms. I found myself isolating and pushing away current friendships to aid the pain and protect my heart.

Alone was safe.

No one could hurt me if I were alone.

Perhaps you have felt the same before. Yet, the more I prayed about how to respond to this hurt, the more the Lord reminded me that I am never truly alone. As said in Isaiah 41:10,  “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” The loneliness that I was experiencing, although heavy, was not a place that he wanted me to stay. Instead, the Lord used this momentary pain to remind me that He would be my place of safety and comfort more than anyone else could ever be. Although the Lord values friendships and wants us to live in community, He also never wants

a relationship to take the place of our relationship with Him.

Sadly, I have been found guilty of being more loyal to people than to the Lord. And during this time, the Lord showed there were times I even disobeyed God just to keep this friend in my good graces.

Friends, I have found that whenever we put anyone in front of the Lord, it's only a moment of time before problems ensue.  Fortunately, in this time of loneliness, I dug deeper into my Word, prayed more than ever, and worshipped God with my entire soul. My loneliness drew me closer to God and understanding His heart for me.

My prayer for you today is that you seek the Lord when loneliness overtakes you. We can rest assured that “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3). Though we may feel broken and alone, we must know that God alone can heal our pain. He can bring us clarity on how we can show up better for those in our lives. He can also bring people into our lives who will reflect His love towards us. Our role in this is to pray for comfort and know that God is truly the best friend we could ever ask for.

He is faithful.

He is honest.

He is loyal.

He does not lie or change his mind about us when we make a mistake.

He cares about us when we don’t care about ourselves.

He is full of grace and walks in truth.

He guides us and gives us peace.

This is the God we serve. What a friend we have in Jesus! May your heart be soothed and reminded of His never-ending faithfulness to those who believe. There is victory in seeking our Savior for companionship above all else.

Let’s pray.

Lord, I thank you for your friendship. God, I pray that when loneliness arises, you comfort me with your presence. I pray that you will help me to remember your faithfulness and how you have carried me through every situation. Thank you for never leaving me or forsaking me. I thank you for being a loyal friend and ministering to my broken places. God, I ask that you bring those around me who will help lead me closer to you. Forgive me for any time I was not a good friend to those you have put in my life. Heal my heart from the loneliness that comes with life, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen.

---

Thanks so much for reading! My name is Victoria, and I am so thankful that you took a moment to read my blog. My prayer is that you are encouraged to run closer to Jesus than ever before. There is no relationship like one with Jesus! If you haven't already, I invite you to purchase my new book Warrior Mother: Equipping Your Heart To Fight For Your Family's Faith or the Victory Walk: A 21 Day Devotional on Amazon today by clicking here. While you await your new book, head over to itunes, Spotify, Youtube or Amazon Music and sing out your victory with my latest single, "God Has Not Forgotten You."

Click Here to Grab Your Book!

Portions of this blog were originally written and recorded for the iBelieve Truth Podcast and ibelieve.com