One Good Friend: A Blessing to Celebrate

Friend: Noun

1: One attached to another by affection or esteem

2: One that is not hostile

3: A favored companion

4: A person included in a list of one’s designated connections on a social media service (1)

As you read the above definition, who would you name as a “good friend”? Maybe it’s a loyal man or woman with whom you have had a long, trusted history. Or maybe it’s someone you met recently but you really enjoy their companionship. Because God made us for relationships, we long for connection with others.

But how do we discern between people we know - acquaintances - and someone who is really a “good friend”? Here is what Pastor Alistair Begg shares on this:

I also want to celebrate my friends—those whom God has given me in my life. Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” If you’ve got one friend in your life, you’re rich! You’ve heard me say that fifty times. I say it every time because I believe it. One friend! I’m not talking casual acquaintances. I’m not talking about somebody who knows you or took a trip with you. I’m talking about one person with whom you can bare your soul and know that they won’t turn it into a prayer chain request. A person to whom you can confess your sins and know that they won’t take a megaphone and use it as an opportunity for public display. A person before whom you can acknowledge your fears and your failures and your disquiets and your discouragements and know that they will get where you are. “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Be thankful if you’ve got a friend. Proverbs 18:24: “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Proverbs 27:6: “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.” (2)

So, after reading this on friends, how do you think God would have you respond? Below are several possible applications, but please don’t limit yourself to these if the Lord is prompting you in another direction:

• Thank the Lord for creating you to deeply desire these types of friends.

• Ask the Lord to provide this person if you currently do not have this kind of friend.

• Cultivate relationships you currently have to try and grow that relationship into this kind of friendship.

• Send a written note (preferably not a text or email) thanking a person who is this kind of friend!

  
  

PRAYER: Lord, thank You that You made me for relationships - first with You, and then with others You have placed in my life. God, please help me in three ways: 1) to give thanks for the friends You have given me, 2) to have the courage and discernment to cultivate new relationships into friendships, and 3) to ask You to work in those relationships to further transform me into the image of Your Son. Thank You, Lord!

A Final Thought:

You may be thinking, “Why is a ministry for married couples posting about friendship?” Two quick responses to that question: 1) If you want to have a Christ-centered and God-honoring marriage, you will need these types of friendships actively working in your life. We need the encouragement and accountability that are provided in these Christ-centered relationships. 2) In marriage, we should strive to be this kind of friend to our spouse. One to whom you can bare your soul – confess your sins – and share your fears and failures. Are you and your spouse moving toward this kind of friendship in your marriage?

More Online Resources on Friendship:

Desiring God Post: True Friends are Hard to Find

Dave Ramsey Solutions: How to Be a Good Friend

Written by Glen Solberg, Abiding Marriage, October 2025. Send comments or questions to info@AbidingMarriage.org

Sources:

(1)   From Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

(2)   Sermon by Alistair Begg: Lessons from the Dungeon: Part Two - Truth For Life https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/sermon/lessons-from-the-dungeon-pt-2/

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