You’ve Got a Friend
Who are you going to call when you need help in the middle of the night? Chances are it’ll be someone you know well, perhaps a relative or close friend. Someone who most likely knows you very well too.
It’s a horrible thing to not have a friend. Songwriter/artist James Taylor sang it out in His hit “Fire and Rain” with the lyrics “I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend.” Interestingly it was this song and these lyrics which inspired Carole King to write the 1971 hit “You’ve Got a Friend.” Taylor liked the song so much that he too recorded it catapulting the song to the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Bible tells us Jesus wants to be our Friend. Jesus said to His disciples and He says to us, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.” (John 15:13-14). One of His commands is that we agree with Him about our sin… that we have strayed far from the holiness that His kingdom requires and we are unworthy of a holy place like Heaven. We must be willing with His help to live in a different way, to give Him our lives and minds and hearts and allow His Spirit to come into us and to live through us. In short, we, must surrender.
When we do we find in Jesus that “Friend Who sticks closer than a brother” (Prov. 18:24), that Friend on Whom we can call in the middle of the night, that perfect all powerful, loving Friend – like the one about whom Carole King sang…
You’ve Got a Friend – song by Carole King
“When you’re down and troubled / And you need some lovin’ care / And nothin’, nothin’ is goin’ right
Close your eyes and think of me / And soon I will be there / To brighten up even your darkest night
You just call out my name / And you know, wherever I am / I’ll come runnin’ / To see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall / All you have to do is call / And I’ll be there / You’ve got a friend…”
You don’t have to make yourself holy first before you can call upon this Friend. Jesus wants to be your Friend now. “A friend of tax collectors and sinners,” they called Him (Matt. 11:19). All you need do is believe Him… that He is Who He says He is, trust in Him and follow Him. “Abraham believed God…” reminds James, “and he was called God’s friend.” (James 2:23). You can become God’s Friend too!
“Now, ain’t it good to know that you’ve got a friend.”
Press on…
Listen to Carole King sing “You’ve Got a Friend” here!
To hear this past Sunday’s message, go to the Facebook page of Lincoln Baptist Church, or link to the livestream from the church website.
thebrokenrunner 