The Friend of God

The Friend of God

"Abraham stood yet before the Lord" (Gen. 18:22).

The friend of God can plead with Him for others. Perhaps Abraham's height of faith and friendship seems beyond our little possibilities. Do not be discouraged, Abraham grew; so may we. He went step by step, not by great leaps.

The man whose faith has been deeply tested and who has come off victorious, is the man to whom supreme tests must come.

The finest jewels are most carefully cut and polished; the hottest fires try the most precious metal. Abraham would never have been called the Father of the Faithful if he had not been proved to the uttermost. Read Genesis, twenty-second chapter:

"Take thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest." See him going with a chastened, wistful, yet humbly obedient heart up Moriah's height, with the idol of his heart beside him about to be sacrificed at the command of God whom he had faithfully loved and served!

What a rebuke to our questionings of God's dealings with us! Away with all doubting explanations of this stupendous scene! It was an object lesson for the ages. Angels were looking.

Shall this man's faith stand forever for the strength and help of all God's people? Shall it be known through him that unfaltering faith will always prove the faithfulness of God?

Yes; and when faith has borne victoriously its uttermost test, the angel of the Lord--who? The Lord Jesus, Jehovah, He in whom "all the promises of God are yea and amen"--spoke to him, saying, "Now I know that thou fearest God." Thou hast trusted me to the uttermost. I will also trust thee; thou shalt ever be My friend, and I will bless thee, and make thee a blessing.

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God called Abraham friend. The word friend expresses relationship. This mean that God engaged Abraham, asked him questions, made promises to him, presented him with unbelievable challenges.

You see being the friend of God comes with great responsibility, but it also carries with it unlimited blessings. The friend of God was called to offer up his most prized blessing on the alter of sacrifice because God requires His friend's loyalty without fault. The friend of God had to wait 25 years for the promise because God requires enduring faith from His friends. The friend of God had to dwell in tents because God requires His friends to follow blindly in order to reap boldly.

Dr. Rick Wallace

God desires to call you friend. The question is, Are you willing to climb Mr. Moriah to offer the greatest of sacrifices? He wants to call you friend, but are you willing to set aside yourself to submit to His will? You see God wants you as a friend so that you can move away from trying to reach Him through religion and understand that He is only accessible through personal relationship. He wants you to know that as a friend you can approach Him with any need, any question, petition, and any sorrow.

God is calling out to you and he is saying, "Be my friend and I will make your name great upon this earth. Be my friend and I will bless all who bless you and I will ultimately curse and destroy all that curse and assault you. I will defend you from the enemy.' God has sent you a friend request, will you accept or decline?.  ~ Dr. Rick Wallace