Someone to count on

As you know, I’m a follower of Christ, which means that I believe in the God of the Bible. I originally sent this to a group of Christians dealing with mental illness. This version is edited a little for this blog. If you’re on a spiritual journey of your own, this post might help you understand how the God of my faith is always there for us.

Have you ever had a friend you cared about and trusted so well that you shared everything with her (or him)? You could tell her all the thoughts and feelings that came to you. What a comfort it was to have someone you could talk so freely to, whether you were up or down! All of us need someone like that, don’t we?

We are fortunate when we have such a person in our life. A friend like this is a treasure. This kind of person would be good support when we have problems we need to talk over or when we’re struggling emotionally.

But did you ever have the unthinkable happen? Did you ever have this friend leave suddenly? Have you ever lost such a person and felt as though you were a child having your mother yanked away from you? Suddenly she was no longer there to sympathize with you when times were hard. No longer available to listen when you needed to talk.

But how good it is at times like this to realize how much better and more reliable God can be for us! We can find the security we need in Him. He is the only friend who will always be there – the only one whose love we can always count on. And even when we have an overwhelming amount to talk about, He never tires of us. He’s always ready to listen.

But can we talk to God the way we’ve always talked to our old friend? Will He hear us the way our friend heard us? How?

We can do so any way we feel most comfortable: by writing to Him in a journal, quietly praying to ourselves, or talking out loud to Him as we would to a friend in the room with us. He will hear us.

God invites us to come to Him, completely trusting and open, with the freedom a child might have. He wants us to be honest with Him, no matter how we feel. We don’t have to hide negative feelings, whether they be anger, frustration or despair.  Jesus himself prayed with complete candour to His Father. Remember this? “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34)

When we confide in God, we are telling Him, “I trust you and know you love me. I want to pour out my heart to you, because I know you understand. Thank you for being there, my friend.”