Is God your Friend? Or Is He just a companion?
So, is God your companion, or is He your friend? To really get to the heart of it, we need to talk about what makes friendship different from companionship. Let’s break it down together.
Companionship
This is more about having someone to hang out with, either because you choose to or because you’re in the same situation. It’s often focused on doing activities together or for specific purposes.
This is your coworker, who you see everyday and go to lunch once a week, but never see outside of that environment.
Let’s consider a real-life example: Think about your coworker—the person you see every day at the office, share jokes with, and meet for lunch every week. You enjoy these regular rituals and the easy conversations that flow during your midday breaks, but your interactions stay within the boundaries of work. Outside the office walls, you don’t really connect or share your personal lives.
Good but hardly earth shattering, right? It’s the classic “work bestie” scenario: a person essential to your nine-to-five sanity, the one who makes forgetting your lunch a little less tragic, the one you swap memes and Monday complaints with. Yet when the final email is sent and the fluorescent lights power down, your connection clocks out too. You need them at work—no question—but beyond those walls, the closeness fades. There’s comfort and camaraderie, sure, but the bond rarely spills over into the rest of your life. This is companionship: you share space, time, and pleasant experiences, but there isn’t necessarily a deep, emotional bond or vulnerability.
Friendship, True Friendship
Friendship centers on a deep emotional connection, built on mutual trust, understanding, and support. It involves sharing personal experiences, feelings, and vulnerabilities.
For example, a friend is someone you can confide in, someone who offers a shoulder to cry on, and someone who celebrates your successes while supporting you through challenges. Friendship often requires a higher level of emotional investment and a willingness to be vulnerable. I am referring to genuine friends, not mere acquaintances.
This distinction between companionship and friendship highlights how not all relationships carry the same weight. Companionship is comforting and familiar, but friendship asks for honesty, loyalty, and the willingness to weather storms together. Where companionship is the gentle surface of a pond, friendship is the deep pool beneath—sometimes still, sometimes turbulent, but always profound.
It’s easy and enjoyable to fill our days with companions—people who make the hours lighter and more pleasant. But true friendship is rarer. It’s what we long for in moments of joy and in seasons of hardship. Friendship demands that we show up, not just physically but also emotionally, sharing our hearts and hopes and hurts.
This is especially true when it comes our relationship with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
Be truthful with yourself. How would you describe your relationship with God and Jesus—are they truly your friends, or simply companions?
Is your connection defined by a deep, intimate bond marked by love, trust, and obedience? Or does it feel more like a casual acquaintance—familiar, yet not deeply personal?
It stings to realize how easily we slip into patterns of routine—settling for a distant, comfortable association rather than risking the vulnerability required for real friendship. That question presses in with uncomfortable honesty: are we content with God and Jesus as familiar presences, or do we truly open our hearts, invest, and relate as we do with our closest friends? Perhaps, in the quiet moments, we sense the gap between our intentions and our intimacy—a gap that aches once noticed.
At times, it may seem as though our friendship with God is one-sided, and feelings of distance or imbalance can arise—whether it’s in God’s reaching out to us, or, more frequently, in how we respond to Him. Yet the reality remains: God is always present, unwavering, and near.
We know that God is for us, but we struggle to reciprocate with the same depth of devotion. Scripture reveals it is meant to be a two-way street. God delights not only in giving but also in receiving our affection, our trust, our honest prayers, and our daily companionship.
The term “friend” is found in 43 verses, across 21 chapters and 19 different books in the Bible—a testament to how deeply God and Jesus desire a genuine friendship with you, not merely a casual connection or passing acquaintance.
Sometimes, though, that’s where it seems to end. Too often, it is a one way street. You may recognize God as your friend, but do you ever consider what it means to be a friend to God in return?
Most Christians are familiar with the basics: attending church, avoiding sin, reading the Bible, and praying. But genuine friendship with God isn’t about following a secret formula or seeking out some mystical insight. There’s no hidden equation to solve.
At its core, friendship is simple yet profound: finding joy in one another’s presence.
This is the heart of true friendship with God and Jesus: mutuality. Friendship with God is not simply us acknowledging God’s love from afar; it is a living, breathing relationship that God himself eagerly invites us into.
What does this mean for us? It means that friendship with God goes beyond routine religious duties. It is about cultivating a relationship where love, trust, and obedience flow naturally—not out of obligation, but out of genuine desire to know and enjoy God. Like any deep friendship, it involves listening and sharing, learning and responding. God initiates, but invites us to respond—to love because he first loved us, to draw near because he has already drawn near to us.
The most remarkable, accomplished, and awe-inspiring God of all Gods, Lord of all Lord, King of all Kings, in all existence desires friendship with us—God wants us to be His friends, and longs to be a friend to us in return.
Indeed, God has taken extraordinary measures to ensure that we can be His friends, and His desire is to bless us with goodness that lasts forever.
In the Old Testament, certain individuals are described as friends of God. For example, James 2:23 notes, “And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’—and he was called a friend of God.” Similarly, Exodus 33:11 tells us, “The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.”
Consider the language of Scripture of James and Exodus: God speaks with Moses “as a man speaks to his friend” and calls Abraham His friend, showing us that divine friendship is personal, vulnerable, and marked by real communication. Exodus 33:11 actually says that “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, just like someone talks with a friend.” Isn’t that incredible?
You know, It paints such a vivid picture of how real and personal our relationship with God can be—he’s not distant or formal, but willing to meet us with warmth and closeness, just like a true friend would.
Far from being a distant, casual acquaintance, God desires the closeness of heart-to-heart communion. He shares His plans, His heart, and even His joys with those who walk closely with him.
Friendship with God truly is a two-way street.
Our communion with Him begins with His initiative—He reaches out, speaks to us, and reveals Himself: His character, His deeds, and the things that delight His heart. He doesn’t remain distant or mysterious, but instead chooses to make Himself known, sharing with us not just commands, but also His deepest joys and desires.
Our response, then, is to return to God what He desires and accepts—our love, trust, and obedience—growing from that union we have with Him through Jesus Christ. This isn’t a mere obligation; it is something that genuinely brings joy to God’s heart. Just as you might feel when a dear friend reaches out to you unexpectedly, causing you to smile and eagerly answer, so God delights when we turn to Him in friendship and intimacy.
He invites us into this relationship not for His benefit alone, but because He truly loves to hear from us.
What Friendship with God Entails: Love and Obedience
John 15:15-16 states, Sharing God’s Heart: John 15:15: “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
Jesus raises the disciples to the status of friends because He has entrusted them with His personal teachings and insights. Unlike a master who keeps plans, goals, and purposes hidden from a servant, Jesus chooses to reveal His heart and intentions to His friends.
Since Jesus has called us His friends, we are invited to cherish that relationship by approaching Him daily—seeking closeness through prayer, engaging with His Word, discovering the lessons He wants to share about the Father, obeying what He asks of us, and remaining steadfast in His presence.
It is solely by God’s grace in choosing us that we have the privilege and honor of being called His friends
The Meaning of Lasting Fruit in John 15:16
When Jesus says in John 15:16, “I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last,” He invites us into a life that is both purposeful and overflowing with meaning.
But what does this “lasting fruit” truly signify? Is it for our blessing, the blessing of others, or ultimately for God’s glory?
YES ALL THREE!!! AMEN!!
Blessings for Us!!!
To bear fruit as a follower of Christ means to experience deep inward transformation. The Spirit cultivates love, joy, peace, and all the fruits described in Galatians 5:22-23 within us. This growth is a blessing—our souls are nourished, our character is refined, and our lives become rooted in the assurance of God’s nearness. The process itself brings an abiding sense of purpose and fulfillment that cannot be shaken by changing circumstances.
Yes, but that is not all that means. It goes deeper! That is an intrinsic part of the process. We cannot make bearing fruit merely about other people’s response; it needs to be about our own response first.
What do you contribute to the broader world? What qualities or actions do you offer? Is it kindness? Is it something that hinders others? Is it friendship? Are you a positive influence until changes come? Do you share your positive values? Do you hide your love of GOD and JESUS?
What qualities do your companions exhibit? You know the truth, yet do you continue to stay in difficult situations? In the name of avoiding conflict? In the name of inclusivity? In the name of acceptance? In the name of success?
Indeed, the company we keep has a profound bearing on the fruit we bear. True friends are not only the ones who stand by us in times of need, but also those who gently—and sometimes firmly—encourage us toward growth. They cheer our progress, but they also hold up a mirror when we stray, lovingly calling us to account when our actions fall short of our values.
Such friends, true friends, inspire us to reach higher, to press deeper into integrity, and to live more faithfully. Their support brings comfort, yet their honesty brings transformation. To walk with friends like these is to journey together toward lasting fruitfulness, each strengthening the other to become more than we could be alone.
Let this be my acknowledgment: “I strive to be a good friend, a better friend, A GODLY FRIEND.”
Abiding in Christ looks different for each of us because we are all at unique points along our faith journeys. Still, abiding always means cultivating deep intimacy with the Father, drawing so close that you recognize His words and sense His guidance in your life. It all starts with putting first things first.
Are you bearing any fruit? Or is your fruit dying on the vine?
If there is no fruit, it is vital to pause and take honest stock of your heart and circumstances. What stands in the way of receiving the blessing meant for you, or of sharing it freely with others? Sometimes, barriers to fruitfulness are subtle: a wounded spirit, unresolved bitterness, or an unwillingness to forgive. Other times, they are more overt—self-reliance that edges out dependence on God, fear that chokes out trust, or priorities that have quietly shifted from what matters most.
Ask yourself: Are you resisting the gentle discipline of God, mistaking it for punishment rather than the loving correction of a caring Father? Are you clinging to comfort, or the approval of others, instead of stepping out in faith? Have you let disappointment, pride, or distraction stifle your openness to being used for your true purpose?
The first step is to bring these questions before God with humility. Invite Him to reveal any hidden obstacles and to give you courage to lay them down. Bearing fruit begins with a willingness to be shaped, to repent where needed, and to surrender your plans for His purpose. Only then can you fully receive His blessing, become an agent of blessing to others, and experience the deep joy of being used by God in ways you could never accomplish alone.
God the master gardener, let the pruning begin!
John 15:1-2 1. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2. He cuts off every one of my branches that doesn’t bear fruit. He prunes every branch that bears fruit so it can bear even more.
It can seem paradoxical: if your life is already bearing fruit, why should anything be cut away? Yet, as with a master gardener who prunes a thriving vine, God’s desire is not simply for some fruit, but for abundance—fruitfulness that is rich, lasting, and transformative. Pruning is not punishment for doing well; it is the loving attention of One who sees not only what is, but what could be if every hindrance were removed.
In seasons of pruning, God invites you to surrender dependencies and comforts that, though not inherently wrong, quietly limit your potential. Sometimes these are habits, relationships, or even patterns of thought that have quietly shifted your focus or drained your spiritual vigor. As painful as it may be to let these things go, God’s intention is never to diminish you, but to make room for new growth and deeper fulfillment.
When you allow God to prune away what subtly stifles your spiritual vitality, you become more rooted in Him, more open to His leading, and more prepared for the harvest He desires to bring through you. The process may involve discomfort or even grief for what is left behind, but in the aftermath, you find yourself lighter, more focused, and more fruitful than before.
Pruning, then, is not about loss for its own sake; it is about clearing the way for a richer, more abundant life that reflects God’s purposes.
Bearing fruit already? But you know there is more to your purpose?
If you find yourself already bearing fruit in your spiritual walk, yet sense a holy restlessness—a calling to go deeper—know that this is an invitation to abundance, not complacency. The journey of faith is not static; it is a continual unfolding, a beckoning to step further into God’s purposes for you.
Perhaps you feel content, yet you suspect that there is a richer harvest to be had—a greater love to extend, a deeper peace to experience, a more profound impact to make in the lives of others. This gentle urging within you is the Spirit’s way of drawing you onward, inviting you to surrender afresh and trust that your life can still overflow with new fruit, new joy, and new purpose. As you delight in abiding and let your roots sink even deeper, God will multiply what He has already begun, expanding your reach and influence in ways you cannot yet imagine.
Embrace this season of growth with expectancy. Present your hopes and longings to God, asking Him to reveal the “more” He intends for your journey—more love, more wisdom, more opportunities to serve and to bless. Remember, God is glorified when you bear much fruit, and His plans for you always extend beyond what you can envision on your own.
Take the next step by making a declaration: “I will make my connection with Christ, my time in the Word, and my prayer life my highest priority.” As you do this, you will experience transformation within yourself, and that change will begin to flow through you to others. Prayer is a loving conversation with God, made possible by the Holy Spirit. It can be both personal and shared with others, and we are invited to pray often—not only in moments of need. Through prayer, we come to know God more intimately, which inspires us to love and serve even more deeply.
- If there is no fruit,
I hope you come to recognize the discipline God provides, knowing it flows from His love as a caring Father. To bear fruit is to embrace His correction, choosing to repent and follow in obedience.
- If you’re producing fruit and He starts pruning, Pruning, then, is not about loss for its own sake; it is about clearing the way for a richer, more abundant life that reflects God’s purposes.
- And if you’re already bearing more fruit and want much fruit, it means you take it a step further. Take the next step by making a declaration: “I will make my connection with Christ, my time in the Word, and my prayer life my highest priority.”
Benefits of a Friendship with Jesus and God!!
If you are united with Christ, you are never truly alone. During times of sorrow, loneliness, or temptation, he is always by your side.
When you encounter moments of joy and success, you can recognize these as gifts from your heavenly friend.
The next time you read your Bible or listen to it preached in church, imagine it as your closest friend speaking directly to your heart.
Answer the call ... you are not that busy!
Final Prayer
“Heavenly Father, I come before you with a heart that desires to be closer to you. You are the source of all love, wisdom, and strength, and I long to draw nearer to you each day. Help me to understand your will and your ways, and to walk in your path.
Lord, I thank you for the gift of friendship, and for the way you invite us into a relationship with you. May my heart be open to your love, and may I learn to rest in your presence. Fill me with your peace and joy, and help me to share that love with others, especially those you place in my life.
Help me to be a good friend to those around me, reflecting your love and compassion. Guide me to be a source of encouragement and support, and to be a true friend in times of need. I pray you will bring gospel friendships into my life. I pray you would open my eyes to see people who need me to be that friend for them. Help me to be the friend I desire and long to have. Help me to seek to serve my brothers and sisters in Christ. Help me to walk beside them in their trials and suffering. Help me exhort when needed, forbear weakness, forgive offenses, and bear burdens.
Teach me to forgive and to love unconditionally, just as you love me. I need friends who will disciple me and train me, helping me see how the gospel applies to every area of my life.
May my relationship with you be a source of strength and guidance in all areas of my life. I ask for your help in overcoming any obstacles that may hinder our fellowship. May I always seek to honor you in my thoughts, words, and actions. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
