WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND AND IS PEACE POSSIBLE?
‘The Lord is my best friend and my shepherd. I always have more than enough. He offers a resting place for me in his luxurious love. His tracks take me to an oasis of peace, the quiet brook of bliss .’ Psalms 23:1–2
Today is a lighter tone. Like walking in the woods drinking coffee. A leisurely stroll of thoughts. Let’s call it, “a walk’n talk.
What is a best friend?
My daughter Lior is two, almost three. She says this statement every day. She says, “you’re my best friend.” It seems natural for her to say it to her mother or myself, however, she says it A LOT. It’s cute — it’s honest, I love it. But, I’m pretty certain EVERYONE is her best friend. The wonders of two years old. 😊
I wonder if you’ve thought about what makes someone “your best friend?” As you get older, that term seems to drift away. Life happens, things change and friends change. Maybe you haven’t thought about it much, maybe you have.
The thinking behind asking yourself this question is to determine what the term “best friend” means to you and how it applies to God? If David is saying to the Lord, “you’re my best friend,” what does that look like to you and me. What does David mean by that.
That’s something that’s bouncing in my brain today. “What does a best friend look like to you?” And maybe, “who is your best friend?”
Friends can be hard to come by, let alone — BEST FRIENDS. Whoever they may be, identify them and let them know. Life is short, don’t wait till you bury someone to let them know their value to you.
Something else that I started to think about in this verse are the phrases, “I always have more than enough,” and “his tracks take me to an oasis of peace.” Both of these thoughts hold so much hope for what we face today.
When David says, “I have more than enough,” you have to know that he wasn’t ballin’ out all the time. The man was chased, hunted and belittled his whole life. His life was in danger constantly, yet he says, “I have more than enough.”
I wish I had this much hope. I find myself at times looking for something to purchase (that I probably don’t need) and instead of realizing I “don’t” need it, I complain and think, “I wish I had the money to buy it.”
The reality is, I don’t need it. I want it, but in no way shape or form is it anything “I need.” I have to rest in that. I have to rest in the fact that God knows what “I need” and WHEN I need it. And he knows the same for you.
Let me repeat that — HE KNOWS THE SAME FOR YOU.
Lastly, the phrase “his tracks take me to an oasis of peace,” is beautiful. What a sensational picture that is painted for us. I mean, who doesn’t want PEACE right now, right? We’ve got riots, social media unrest, tension in some of our friendships — peace sounds like a nice infinity pool in Bali right now.
It may not seem possible but it is. Peace can look different to so many. Even as we protest and march for justice and fight for the abolishment of police brutality — there can still be peace.
I remember this phrase someone told me one time, “if you want to change your output — change your input.”
If I want to experience more peace, I need to change the input.
When you are filled with peace, your lens on everything changes. It’s not that you’re not angry for injustice but you’re walking it out from a peaceful spirit.
The thought today is just that — how can I fill my soul with peace today so that I can share peace in my world? What does that look like for you? I know for me, I want peace to overflow out of me.
That doesn’t mean I can’t be a voice to the voiceless. It means to me, I can do it peacefully. I can support the racial injustices of today and still be in peace. I can feel the pain of the black lives who have been taken early and share my peace.
If you want peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies. — Desmond Tutu
