THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS
ARE FOR!
Shelly was having a terrible day
at school. Everything seemed to go wrong. Shelly got her
spelling test back and had 6 words wrong. Her teacher made her copy
each word 25 times so she'd learn it. She forgot her lunch and had to
eat the school lunch of franks and beans . . . and she hates franks and
beans! At recess, all the swings were taken before Shelly got there,
so she had to play hopscotch instead. She twisted her ankle doing
that. It was one of the worst days Shelly could remember.
Shelly was feeling pretty down
as she and her friend, Marcy, walked home from school that afternoon.
Shelly was telling Marcy about all that had happened to her that day.
Shelly said, "This was the worst day of my whole life! Boy,
God must be mad at me to allow all of these things to happen today."
Marcy looked at her best friend
and asked, "Do you remember those Bible verses Mrs. Johnson taught
us in Sunday School last week? They said, 'Count it all joy when ye
fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith
worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may
be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.' "
"Yes," Shelly
said. "I remember. Mrs. Johnson said it means
that when troubles come our way, our faith is tested. But those
troubles can help us to grow closer to Jesus and can help our faith to
grow."
"That's right!"
said Marcy. "It also means that we should still be joyful
when the troubles come. God doesn't expect us to be happy about the
troubles, but He wants us to praise Him anyway because we know that God
always does what is best for us."
Shelly thought about it for a
few minutes. "You're right, Marcy. I thought that God
was mad at me for some reason and that's why He allowed all those things to
happen to me today. You've helped me to see that God allowed those
things to happen because He loves me and He wants me to love and trust Him .
. . no matter what! Thanks, Marcy! I'm glad you reminded me what
the Bible said. I feel a lot better."
Because Marcy knew Jesus as her
Savior and was Shelly's best friend, she could help Shelly when she was
having a bad day by reminding her what God's Word teaches. It's so
important for those who know Jesus as their Savior to have best friends who
also know and love Jesus. That way they can encourage one another
in their walk with the Lord. Romans 1:12 tells us, "I'm
eager to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by
your faith. In this way, each of us will be a blessing to the
other." A friend who knows and loves Jesus can be
there to help you grow closer to Jesus, and you can help your friend grow
closer to Jesus, too.
Do you have a best friend
who knows and loves Jesus who is encouraging you in your walk with the Lord?
If you do, be sure to thank God right now for that person. A best
friend like that is a special gift from God. If you don't have a
best friend like that but you are longing to know such a person, talk to God
about that right now. Tell Him how you feel. Ask Him to
give you a friend who can help you know Jesus better. After all, that's
what friends are for!
*****
If you have any questions about this Mousetales story or if you want to
talk further about receiving Jesus as your Savior, please e-mail Miss
Missy at
cef-cm@bwkip.com
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