Seasonal Relationships vs. Lifetime Relationships?
I have a friend of many years, Prophet David Taylor, who shared the following revelation with me, He said, "Steve God Sends People Into Your Life for a Reason, or for a Season." He went on to state that the important thing for one to remember was to not confuse a seasonal relationship with a lifetime relationship. The Holy Writ says that a friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. One doesn't determine the authenticity of a true friend when the sun is shining, the authenticity of a friend is determined when it is storming.
One can have thousands of Associates, but how many true friends does one have? Were many associates there just for a season , or were they there for a lifetime? The blows that are inflected by a stranger are often painful, but we find a way to get through those attacks. However; does that change when one is attacked by one that he or she considered a friend?
The power of relationships are very important and can never be negated, but one has to have the ability to determine which ones will bear fruit for a lifetime, and which ones were just for a season. We can't do it all alone, so one will often need the support of others in one's endeavors in life. When people are sent into one's life for a season, they may be just what God ordered to get you through that season of your life. When they leave after that season that makes neither of you in most cases a bad person. It may have been simply good for that season.
Isn't it amazing that Jesus called Judas that would later betray him friend, but he would later tell Peter his trusted accomplice who only sought to prevent Jesus from dying in St. Matthew 16:22 to "Get Thee Behind Me, Satan. How can a turncoat be called a friend, and a friend that was only trying to save the life of another friend be called a devil? A betrayal or nonsupport of a friend has thrust many solidly and positively into their destinies. Sometimes for a rocket to take flight, the rocket has to first let loose of some of the weights that it started its journey with. Boy that will preach all day long! Was the departure of some friends vital to your answering yes to God, or saying yes to finally walking into your destiny?
Everyone in the Blogosphere has had a real life experience where we shocked by the actions of a so called friend. Et tu, Brute was a cry of Julius Caesar, but have there been crys of Et Tu, Shamika, and Et Tu, Ray Rays out there? Thanks God for all of the Judases, and the Bruteses that one encounters in life, for they will keep one solidly on their knees! Always remember that Jesus is a friend that will stick closer than a brother, so he is definitely one that we all should ardently pursue a lifetime relationship with! What think ye?
Guest Columnist,
Pastor Stephen F. Smith
StephenFSmith.Org