{"id":9930,"date":"2024-03-11T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-11T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/?p=9930"},"modified":"2024-02-22T07:41:03","modified_gmt":"2024-02-22T12:41:03","slug":"9930","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2024\/03\/11\/9930\/","title":{"rendered":"Unreliable Friends"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TWo-minute read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cYet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting. When my prayers returned to me unanswered,\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Psalm 35:13<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Unreliable friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David discovers the people whom he fasted and prayed for betrayed him.  They expressed anger towards the king, using false witnesses to accuse and slander him.  Seeking God\u2019s justice, David feels far from the Lord.  Why doesn\u2019t God do something about this situation, the Psalmist pleads.  Waiting desperately for God\u2019s mercy, David will proclaim the Lord\u2019s mighty works once God shows him mercy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Praying for those who don\u2019t appreciate it hurts.  No one likes false tales about them, yet people do it daily.  Thinking they know the whole story, people fill in the blanks with lies, as they did with David. Not feeling God\u2019s immediate assistance, David pleads desperately for the Lord to intervene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven though Jesus was God\u2019s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.\u201d Hebrews 5:8-9 NLT<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A man after God\u2019s heart, David remained obedient amid his struggles, fasting and praying for the Lord\u2019s intervention.  Jesus learned obedience from His sufferings, and so do we.  Trusting God during the raging storms of life and persevering on the right path when our human tendencies war against us develops obedience.  We find victory as we take one step at a time, faithfully obeying the Lord\u2019s commands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone falls short of the mark.  Sometimes, people call me an unreliable friend because I didn\u2019t meet their expectations.  We live for the expectations of the Lord, not others.  Only Jesus lived a perfect life; no one else did.  If we did everything right, we wouldn\u2019t need a Savior.  But we need Jesus because human nature sometimes gets the best of us.  And so we seek God for help, confessing our sins and asking for His divine intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Lord moves, He moves.  Whatever struggles we have, God helps us overcome, one way or another.  But until then, we must stay the course.  Fasting and prayer help strengthen us, drawing us closer to God and tapping into His divine power.  Don\u2019t give up hope; God will deliver you from the storm in His time and way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Journal Questions:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n