Friends of God

ByPrasad

Day 43 · Exodus 33:11

📖 TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

Exodus 33:11 (NIV)

“The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.”

Today’s John 15 thread: In John 15:14, Jesus tells His disciples: “You are my friends if you do what I command.” Moses was not just a servant following orders. He talked to God honestly, pushed back, wrestled, and ultimately obeyed. That is exactly what Jesus is describing. The same kind of friendship is available to you.


✍️ REFLECTION

In Exodus chapter 4, Moses is giving God every reason why he is the wrong man for the job. He can’t speak well, doesn’t know what to say, and thinks he is nobody special. He wants God to send someone else. And God’s response is extraordinary. Instead of dismissing Moses or finding someone more willing, God patiently answers every objection. And then when Moses pushes one more time, the Bible says the Lord’s anger burned against Moses, but even that anger didn’t disqualify him. Instead, God found him a solution: Aaron.

Q1: Have you ever been that honest with God, pushed back, told Him you don’t feel up to it, said ‘I am not the right person for this’? How did He respond?

Think about what this conversation is. Moses is telling God what he thinks, and God is telling Moses what He thinks right back. There is no performance here, no pretending to be more faithful than he feels, just honest back-and-forth between a man and his God. That’s what friendship looks like.

In Exodus 33:11, the Bible says that God spoke to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Moses wasn’t just a servant carrying out orders. He was in a relationship, one built on years of honest conversation, obedience, doubt, wrestling, and ultimately trust. And in John 15:14, Jesus tells His disciples the same invitation is available to them: “You are my friends if you do what I command.” Not servants. Friends. People who know what their Master is doing and why.

Q2: Do you experience your relationship with God more as a servant following orders, or as a friend who talks honestly with Him about everything? What would have to change to move it more towards friendship?

The command Jesus points to in John 15 is this: love each other. That is the heart of the friendship. Friends of God love the way God loves. Moses loved the people he led, even when they were impossible. He interceded for them. He cried out to God on their behalf. He chose to stay with them even when God offered him a way out. That is what being a friend of God produces. Not just a private closeness with Him, but a love that reaches out to others.

Q3: Who are the people God has placed in your life that He is calling you to love the way He loves, even when it is hard? What does that look like practically this week?


🌿 REMAIN IN HIM

Take a moment before you move on. This isn’t a to-do. It’s an invitation to stay.

Reflect honestly: Are you treating God like a distant boss, doing what you’re told without really talking to Him? Or are you talking to Him like a friend, honestly, openly, about everything?

Bring it to Jesus: Come to Him today not with a polished prayer but with honest conversation. Tell Him how you actually feel. He can handle it.

Trust the Gardener: Friendship with the Vine is the source of everything. Stay close. Talk honestly. Obey from love, not fear.


🙏 PRAYER

Father, I want to be Your friend, not just Your servant. Teach me to talk to You the way Moses did, honestly, openly, even when I have doubts. And let that friendship produce in me a love for others that looks like Yours. I want to do what You command, not out of obligation, but because I love You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.


💡 MEMORY VERSE

Exodus 33:11 (NIV): “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.”


This post is part of the Abide in Him Daily devotional series, reading Scripture through the lens of John 15:1–17. The branch doesn’t manufacture the fruit. It bears it because it stays connected to the Vine.

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