https://youtu.be/vtFtzxaK4T4 - R8P Podcast Version - The Pain of Losing A Friend
In my opinion one of the best God-given gifts of life is Friendship. There’s just something about the pure and unadulterated love that exists within genuine friendships that makes life experiences so much better. Friends provide such great support in desperate times of need and wholeheartedly cheer us on in our momentus achievements in life. It’s all these factors that, I believe, account for the pain we experience when we lose our friends. Some may even compare the pain of losing a friend to that of a romantic heartbreak or even greater. I must say I may have to agree.
We may feel that the pain we feel is utterly useless as it only makes us feel bad within ourselves. However, the feeling of pain serves a unique purpose. Pain serves as a signal that we are in a dangerous territory that may cause harm to our body. Therefore reacting to pain puts us in a safe place. Sometimes when we focus on the pain we're feeling we neglect to see the change it brings about as we remove the source of our pain. God, in his infinite wisdom, repurposes our pain to bring certain breakthroughs in our lives. These experiences are valuable to our growth and development as his children.
A lot of the time we question these losses of people in our lives and possibly credit it to something we may have personally done. However we know that , as stated in Romans 8, all things work together for good to those who love God according to his purpose. Knowing this truth helps us to rest in the understanding that whatever happens in our lives serves a purpose and is meant for our own good. We all know that God is the only person that can see the whole picture of what our lives entail. As the author and finisher of our fate He holds the power of determining and ordering the steps of our lives. Relinquishing control to God and his plan for our lives, though it may be hard, soothes the pain we go through when the plans we have do not go as we hoped.
Also, reassuringly we can lean into the role of being a friend of God. John 15 verses 13 to 15 reveals Jesus recounting "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you." Filled with the greatest level of love for us God sacrificed his only son Jesus, who willingly died for our sins to make us whole. Therefore practicing as he preached, that with great love he laid down his life for us who he calls friends.
- Katrina O’Sullivan
