May 12

“When a friend is under deep conviction by the Holy Spirit, do you try to give comfort?  Don’t ever try to ease the discomfort of someone whom the Holy Spirit is making uncomfortable!  Be careful not to communicate to your friends that you find their lack of faith acceptable.”  H. Blackaby, Experiencing God Day-by-Day, 5/12

Yesterday Blackaby wrote about being careful not to focus attention on people’s behavior but rather to focus on the activity of God, otherwise we could easily become frustrated.  Ever since my friend reacted badly to my confrontation of her inability to trust God in her illness I’ve tried to honestly examine my motives to make sure I wasn’t confronting her out of my own frustration.  Today, however, I know that I was right to confront her even if my motive was not pure because I had been communicating to her by my silence that her lack of faith was acceptable.  We are no longer in each other’s lives and I mourn that some days.  Other days I feel I was right to confront her, but wonder if God wanted me to remain her friend so that I could continue to have some influence on her life.  For now, though, I will trust that God is using my absence.  My job is to keep my heart open to her in case God brings her back into my life.  I realize, too, that this applies to some other people in my life with whom I feel an unspoken estrangement.  I mustn’t let their absence create bitterness in my heart.  I can continue to love them in my heart until the Lord brings them back into my life.

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”  Proverbs 27:6