The True Strength of Christian Friendships...by Emily

Do you ever look back through the photos on your phone and realize what a difference a year makes? As I scrolled through hundreds of photos over the past two years, I noticed how much I’ve grown.  I also noticed the people who influenced my life during this time.


Right now I am in a relationship with an awesome man, but that wasn’t the case a year ago. Even among Christians, the pressure to date and find “the one” is so overwhelming that it doesn’t seem like you’re truly living until you find someone.


But when I look back at my photos from last year and the year before, I can see that I was living fully and that I wasn’t alone--even though I was single.


As young adult women, we look around at all of the people we know who are in relationships or getting married and feel as though we are left out.

We’ve bought into the enemy’s lie that we can’t live a fulfilling life without a man.
And because of this, we forget the sisterhood God gave us. 

There is nothing wrong with wanting to be married or in a relationship. Those are healthy and wonderful desires that God honors for many. But we don’t even realize that it takes a healthy spiritual life and strong friendships in order to build our character for a serious relationship.

​The true strength of Christian friendships manifests itself in "2" ways:

Friendships Strengthen our Faith

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
(1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV)

When we choose to invest in Christian friendships, we enter into a sisterhood that encourages one another to pursue Jesus Christ. You don’t have to make a ton of friends in order to be successful in this, but a few quality friends who you can count on will make a huge impact on your life.

To this day, the Christian friends that I’ve made in the beginning of college still text me and lift me up in prayer. We do this to hold one another accountable and help each other grow. 


Friendships Weather Adversity

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NIV)

Life can be difficult. The struggle is real, especially when you’re young and trying to find your place in the world. A true friend will stay by your side no matter how hard life gets.

A sister in Christ will be there to pray for you, listen to you vent, and buy you ice cream. And then one day you’ll return the favor.

I sincerely believe that the devil wants us isolated so he can carry out his evil plans in our lives. But when we know that we have someone in our corner to lift us up, we can overcome things like depression or anxiety.

God works through friends to shine a light in this dark world. That is why strong Christian friendships are so important.

Fearfully Wonderfully Me