Wordless Wisdom

God has blessed me, and continues to do so. One of the ways that He has been faithful to provide for me (although He owes me nothing), is in His provision of friends and those around me. The amount of times I have heard someone tell me something along the lines of, “God has blessed you with such a great group of friends” is a little overwhelming. A lot of times, I lie to myself. I try to convince myself that I deserve more. Why? What have I done to deserve more? What gives me the right to question God’s blessings upon my life? Exactly; I have been growing up telling myself this lie. Now that I am finally able to see the effects those around me have on me, I can finally come to understand that all those people were right. They were right, yet I tried to convince myself they were just “saying it”. Now that I have a wiser perspective on how relationships are to be managed, I feel more confident in the work God does through my friendships.

So, one of my best friends, who happens to be a spiritual mentor to me, and I get together probably like once a month and just fellowship together. We usually go get dinner, coffee, take sick photos, or just hangout in my basement watching basketball (and his “boy Jimmy” [Jimmy Butler]). One thing that I cherish about him is his ability to open up. He is one of the most honest people that I know, which I admire so darn much. I could literally ask him anything and he would be honest with me. Because we are both humans, and deal with ‘crap’ (another word for sin in my dictionary), we talk about it. We share about the areas in which we struggle. We pray for each other, and hold each other accountable. It’s so beautiful how Christ designed friendships. Proverbs 13:20 states, “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm” (ESV). God has placed someone in your life who has words of wisdom you need to hear, ears that you need to have just listen to you, and a heart that truly cares about your relationship with the Creator of the universe. They’re out there, but it’s up to us to pursue those relationships. The other day, I shared with my friend (the one from above) about something that was pulling me away from a true pursuing of Christ, and even though I was expecting words of wisdom, I heard exactly what I needed to hear in just one short phrase; “me too, man”. I got goosebumps. It was hard for me to share about something I thought no one would understand, but hearing him respond in the way he did helped me realize that I’m not the only one dealing with such a random thing. Sometimes, we just need a friend to listen. Maybe, you have the problem that I used to deal with (and still do), in that you are so focused on what they can offer you? That’s not the way it works. When Jesus died on the cross, I know He wasn’t thinking, “man, these humans really owe me for this one.” That’s not the way that Christ showed His love. He didn’t even expect a “thank you”, and I’m so worried about my friend helping me with a silly problem? Maybe...just maybe, the reason God put the same struggles in the lives of those with whom you are close, is so that we will tend to look to Christ for answers, rather than our friends (or anything else). I have learned so much more when I simply have a friend that listens, than when I have someone trying to preach me a lesson. (Don’t get me wrong, often times we all need a sermon).

Thank you to all of you who have helped me become more like our Savior. I’ve got a long way to go, and need your help as I continue to pursue Him.

You know who you are ;)

Thank you God for providing me with the brothers and sisters in Christ to help me walk through this journey with confidence and consistency.

-Jack Hilsher

Proverbs 27:17 (ESV)

“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another”