I am blessed with brilliant, fierce, life-giving friends who are fun, lovers of God and others, and full of grace and wisdom – just my favorite kind of human. We trust each other, care for each other and each other’s families. We have opened our hearts and homes to share and hold space, to bear witness and celebrate; support, comfort and encourage; to warn and push. We hold each other’s secrets. We honor each other’s sanctuaries and are welcomed inside, free to ask questions, declare truth or disrupt – all in and by way of LOVE. They are my people. I am allowed to be messy, awkward, desperate, and undone; and so are they. I can be funny, irreverent, expressive, and brave; so can they. We have not only witnessed so much of each other’s life but entered in and experienced together – college and grad school graduations, new jobs and first homes, loss of grandparents, marriages, babies – mundane daily routines sprinkled throughout high highs and deep dark lows. Their companionship is safe and fulfilling. God has and is currently using our friendship to help me walk in the freedom He has won for me. My relationship with them satisfies a basic human need. I was intrigued to read David’s similar description of God’s companionship.
The secret [of the sweet, satisfying companionship] of the Lord have they who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its [deep, inner] meaning. – Psalm 25:14 ( AMP)
We can have companionship with God! Amazing! (And daunting at the same time). What does it take? How is it maintained? How do we contribute? I just kept reading Psalm 25 over and over again and the chapters around it looking for clues. Thankfully I think David gives clues and helps answer these questions. I know there has to be more. This is just what has been uncovered before me so far. David starts by saying in verse 1, “Unto you, O Lord, do I bring my life. O my God, I trust, lean on, rely on, and I’m confident in You”. We can keep showing up, bringing our whole selves, responding to God’s permanently extended invitation to His presence and being honest about everything, every time.
I know we do not have the capacity to hold space for God’s infinite vastness like we may hold space for one another. Praise God that God invites us into His presence. There we have the opportunity to renounce our limiting thoughts and expectations for the purpose of “allowing” God to occupy that space…His space…ALL space and be, however HE chooses, even if it makes us uncomfortable, scared, confused, offended. We can be curious about Him, His ways, and His manner of being rather than insist that God resume occupying our tiny God boxes. I think David may have been learning to do this. Psalm 24:3-6 says, “Who shall go up into the mountain of the Lord? Or who shall stand with him in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart does not lift it up himself to falsehood…he shall receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who seek him who seek your face, Oh God of Jacob. Selah,” and Psalm 26:8, “Lord I love the habitation of Your house, and the place where Your glory dwells.” Oh to be with our Glorious God, in friendship!
—Anyah E. R. White
