What A Friend We Have In Jesus

If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light.

Gracie prayed, “Jesus, you know my heart. And you know I hate this school year! Everyone else seems to be having lots of fun, and I’m miserable and lonely. I know smoking is bad, but if I’d tried the e-cig Trina offered, I’d fit in and have friends.” Gracie wiped angry tears off her pillow as she prayed, hoping her little brother wouldn’t hear her crying and come looking for her.

The next morning, Gracie decided to make Jesus her best friend. She started reading her Bible every day and talked to Jesus all the time. In the shower. When she walked the dog. And when she was doing something creative like drawing. She told him what she was afraid of, what she was worrying about, her dreams, and the mistakes she made. As Gracie got to know Jesus better, she realized that some of the YouTube videos she was watching when her parents weren’t home weren’t what he would want her to watch. They used bad language that she was starting to use too. Everyone else watched these videos, and she watched because she felt left out at lunch when others were talking about them and she hadn’t seen them. Gracie told Jesus she was sorry and stopped watching the videos.

Have you had times in your life when you were lonely like Gracie because classmates and friends were making bad choices? Gracie made the right decision when she prayed about how she was feeling and started spending more time with Jesus. He loves us unconditionally—which means there is nothing we can ever say or do that will make him stop loving us. And because he loves us so much, he gives us guidelines so our lives will be full of the light of truth and goodness. Jesus asks us to live differently from our classmates and neighbors because he knows some of the choices people around us make lead to trouble, and he wants better for us. He wants us to avoid activities that will hurt us physically or emotionally. He is trying to protect us.

Jesus loves you so very much that, long before you were born, he died for you so that your sins would be forgiven. He is the best friend you could ever hope to have, and the guidelines he gives you are because he loves you so much.

Things to Think About

• Where are your favorite places to talk to Jesus? Make a list of the times and places you are most likely to talk to Jesus and compare it to a list made by an adult who loves you.
• Which of Jesus’ commands are harder for you to obey? Why?

DAILY ACT OF FRIENDSHIP

Find a quiet place to open your Bible for ten minutes and have a chat with Jesus about everything going on in your life. Ask him to show you verses in Scripture to guide your week.