“A sweet friendship refreshes the soul.” Proverbs 27:9

Who we surround ourselves with determines our future.

Good friendships will give us confidence, increase our sense of belonging, and have a positive influence in all areas of our lives. Meanwhile, shaky friendships can undermine our self-worth and lead us down the wrong path.

In today’s world of technology, we can easily find ourselves mistaking likes on social media for friendship and online chat rooms for connection. While there’s nothing wrong with these things, we would be amiss to allow surface interactions such as these to replace deep meaningful relationships.

All throughout the Bible we find stories and encouraging verses about the importance of relationships and the character of a good friend.

A good friend is loyal – In the Book of Ruth, we see a relationship between a mother-in-law [Naomi] and daughter-in-law [Ruth]. After losing both their husbands, Naomi urged Ruth to go back to her hometown to be with her people. Ruth responds, “Don’t plead with me to abandon you or to return and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go and wherever you live, I will live;” Ruth 1: 16

A friend defends and protects you – In 1 Samuel we see the extent to which a good friend protects another in the friendship of David and Jonathan. Jonathan, the son of King Saul, goes to great lengths to plead on his friend’s behalf when the King is trying to kill him. He even went against his father to warn David of the King’s plan of attack.

A friend is with you at all times – In the account of Job’s life, the interactions with his friends are as painful to read today as they probably were for Job to hear. However, even these long-winded friends provide a lesson for us. Job’s friends showed up in the middle of his tragedy. They mourned for their friend and sat with him for seven days and nights without uttering a word. (Job 2:11-13)

A friend points you to Jesus – Just like the group of guys who lowered their paralyzed friend down to the feet of Jesus (Luke 5:17-20), a good friend knows that a relationship with Jesus is vital. Our friends should encourage us to spend time with Jesus, in His Word, and in prayer.

As you can see, our circle of friends matters. I pray that you are surrounded by good quality friends.