God and Friends

So I heard a sermon by Kris Vallatton the other day that intrigued me, and it helped me put some pieces together in my own head. He was talking about being friends with God. The part that I loved, and hadn't given a lot of thought to before now, was the stories of Abraham and Moses in conversation with God:

"Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while  Abraham was still standing before the Lord. Abraham  came near and said, 'Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that  the righteous  and the wicked are treated alike.  Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?' So the Lord said,  'If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.'" Genesis  18: 22-26

This conversation between The Lord and Abraham continues until Abraham has convinced God that the city should be spared if ten righteous people are found. 

Now, if we look at the story of Moses, he knows the people have sinned horribly and God is not happy. God actually said to Moses that he is ready to destroy them. So, like Abraham, Moses fell down before God and prayed: "O Lord God, do not destroy Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not look at the stubbornness of this people or at their wickedness or their sin. Otherwise the land from which You brought us may say 'Because the Lord was not able to bring them into the land which He promised them and because He hated them He has brought them out to slay them in the wilderness.' Yet they are Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have brought out by Your great power and your outstretched arm."

 Deuteronomy 9: 26-29

The part I related to, and even chuckled over was how God, in both cases had had it! He was done with the people. Yet, it took a friend to talk Him through the situation. 

This was the sermon, and I liked it. I liked it because, there are times that I am done with people and I run to God needing Him to talk me through the situation. This helps me see how much He understands. He gets it.

Or the great value of having friends in our lives to process difficult situations with. God calls us friends, He wants to know what is going on in my life, and He wants to tell you what is happening in His life too. It's a conversation. 

What do you want to talk to God about today?

Is there something you need to say again?

I know, for me, there are many things I bring to Him, and many times I ask Him to Say That Again!

For Him, it is a delight!

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