WEDNESDAY WEEKLY WORD...you've got a friend in me!

I wish that the song from the movie TOY STORY was true in all my relationships..."You've got a friend in me!" But truth be told, a good and loyal friend is not always easy to find. I have had some really, really great friends in my life and I have had some real lousy friends as well.

When it comes to friendships, I guess the most important thing is not so much what kind of friends you have, but what kind of friend are YOU?

"A friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out." - WALTER WINCHELL

When I think about someone in the Bible that knew what it was like to have people walk out on him, I automatically think of Job. I can relate to Job in many ways, as I have had some people walk out on me in my life. Family, Friends. Some have left me thru death and some have left me by choice. Like Job, I too have often felt abandoned and alone.

Job lost everything. He lost his property, his family, and his health. He was a desperate man and in his time of desperation, Job needed someone to support him, he desperately needed some friends to come alongside of him and give him support and encouragement.

Instead of this though, what Job got was a wife that urged him to just give up and die (Job 2:9), and friends who told him that he deserved exactly what he was getting! Wow, with friends and family like that, who needs enemies, right?

In last week's YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL,  I polled the readers and asked them "what would it take to make someone their enemy?" The top 3 responses were:

1. 44% of those polled, said that if someone lied to them, they would indeed become an enemy.
2. 33% of those voting, said that you would become an enemy if you talked behind their back.
3. Another 33% said that they would never have enemies.

I am sure that Job at one point thought that he also would not have any enemies. Look at what Job 2:11 says:

"When Job's three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him (Job), they set out from their homes and met together in agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him."

Even the most well meaning friend can bring you down instead of encouraging you. Which is exactly what happened in Job's life. Sometimes as a friend, we just miss the opportunity that God is giving us to reach out and stand out from the rest of the world. Sometimes all we need to be is that one that will stand with our brother and sister while the rest of the world turns their back on them. Sometimes all we need is one person to believe in us. One person to not judge us. One person to just be a loyal friend.

In the movie TOY STORY, Andy found that friend he was looking for in his toy doll, Woody. Have you found that loyal, true, encouraging friend that you have been seeking? Jesus Christ is such a friend to you and me. The nail scarred hands, reaching out to us, is simply saying "You've got a friend in Me!"

WHAT KIND OF FRIEND DO OTHERS HAVE IN YOU?