The Best of Friends

Read

Psalm 139:1-6
¹LORD, you have examined me.
You know me.
²You know when I sit down
and when I stand up.
Even from far away,
you comprehend my plans.
³You study my traveling and resting.
You are thoroughly familiar
with all my ways.
⁴There isn't a word on my tongue, LORD,
that you don't
already know completely.
⁵You surround me—front and back.
You put your hand on me.
⁶That kind of knowledge
is too much for me;
it's so high above me
that I can't fathom it.

Reflect

I have a friend who I used to work with all the time. Our personalities meshed really well, and we enjoyed working together. It got to the point where we could read the other person's thoughts just by looking at each other.

Several years ago, I moved. And now, a few weeks will go by in between times when we talk, and we don't see each other for months at a time. But when we do get together, he and I seem to pick up exactly where we left off--as though no time has passed at all.

Having a friend like this is truly a blessing. How is it that this friendship works this way? Why don't we feel like strangers when we spend so much time apart? I think it's because we've gotten to know each other so well. I know the things he's passionate about. He knows the things I get excited about. I know what he finds funny. He knows what I think is stupid. I know the stuff he doesn't care about. He knows the things that worry me.

The best friendships yield a comfort level that comes about from really knowing the other person.

Respond

Think of a person in your life who is a good friend like this--who seems to know you inside out. And then, reread today's passage with the thought that God knows you even better than this person possibly could. In prayer, thank God for your friend, and thank God for being your friend.

Relate

If today's devotion spoke to you in a particular way and you feel led to share your thoughts with others, please do so.