When Friends Forsake You

 

WHEN FRIENDS FORSAKE YOU 

Sometimes even the best of friendships can fall apart without any wrongdoing on your part. It can be devastating to find that someone you thought truly cared about you; someone you trusted and shared the most personal and intimate details of your life with has suddenly disappeared without an explanation. It can be very difficult to recover from the pain and betrayal. There is nothing which can expose your weaknesses more than feeling abandoned by someone you considered your friend. It can leave you deeply wounded, spiritually paranoid, fearful of trusting anyone again. But God does not always allow people to stay in our life forever. Sometimes He has called them to be there for you for a season, to help during a time of darkness, to steer you away from taking a wrong turn, to provide you guidance and support and strengthen your faith.  

There are times friendships become idolatrous. God may remove a friend from your life to prevent you from becoming over-reliant and spiritually codependent rather than your primary relationship being with Jesus Christ. When our emotional state of well-being is found in a friend rather than God, it is a sin.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. Don’t allow your grief to fill you with self-pity. Don’t make yourself a victim. There is no need to become frustrated or bitter over losing a friend. Allow them to go, pray for them, and do not try to force the relationship beyond its purpose. See it as a blessing in disguise.

It would do well to remember that while God places people in your life, so does the enemy. You can only see what people allow you to see, but God sees the heart and He knows exactly how much you can bear; therefore, He may remove someone from your life in order to protect you. There are many people who will come in our lives and play an important role in it. Then when life offers an alternate, often better path, they won’t hesitate to leave us stranded alone. We can be left feeling shattered. God may remove someone because they will not help you to fulfill His plan in your life. They may be toxic, secretly envy you and become more toxic as time goes by. When God removes someone from your life, don't chase after them. Their purpose in your life is done.

Prov 18:24 in the NIV tells us, “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” All of your relationships can break down at some point. Despite what you may momentarily think or feel, you are not alone, you have someone who will always stand by your side. Although it is important to have friends and Christian fellowship, it is a matter of eternal life and death to have Jesus.

The greatest friend that ever lived is Jesus Christ, but we must never forget there is a condition to your friendship with Him. Jesus said in John 15:14-15, “You are my friends IF you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” Jesus is your friend in the sense you can know Him well, you can share your most intimate personal and private thoughts and feelings with Him, and if you have spiritual ears to hear, He will speak to you and always tell you the truth. As our friend, He is reliable and faithful even in the most disastrous circumstances. He brings joy into your life and always has your best interests at heart. Never let the failure of your friends become the basis for doubting the one Friend who will never leave or forsake you.