Friends That Are Weighed

A few nights ago when I was talking to God about friends I heard him clearly say TEKEL. It was a random word but I remembered studying this word before and was shocked that he would use this word in regards to friendships. TEKEL is from Daniel chapter 5 and according to Daniel 5:27 it means “Thou art weighed in the balances and art found wanting” KJV. Before the federal reserve and “cryptocurrency” fine metals were used as currency. To check the value of these metals they were weighed on scales, against rocks, to see if they were as valuable as they appeared. I heard God say He has weighed our “friends” on these scales and they are found wanting, that some friends that we have around us appear more valuable than they actually are! **Insert mind blown emoji here, because WOW God**

Okay, Let’s rewind a bit.

Recently, I have been asking God to surround me with a friend group that loves Him and seeks Him more than I do. Well, God answered me the way he always does, through the Bible. While on our first brunch date (which I am obviously excited about which is why I mentioned it) he led me to Daniel 2 and I went STRAIGHT to it.

Short Summary- In this chapter, the King of Babylon asked a question no one knew the answer to, because of this he sent a decree into the land to kill all the wise men. This included Daniel and his friends. Daniel knew God could answer the King, so he requested time and prayed with his friends. Daniel received wisdom from God and was able to answer the Kings question. The decree to kill them was stopped and then THIS happened:

Daniel 2:49 "Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king."

Side Note: Please do not take my word for it, go read Daniel 2 it’s a great chapter!

Because of Daniel’s faith and his new position with the King of Babylon he was able to make a petition for his friends! How many ‘friends’ do you have around, that hold a great relationship with Jesus, that are able to go to THE KING and petition for you to come up higher? I hope you take a second to evaluate your life because at this point, while at brunch, I sure did!

He then led me to John 1:43

"The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

Philip brought Nathaniel, his friend, to Jesus and Nathaniel became one of the 12 disciples of Jesus. Nathaniel not only received eternal life but he also has a legacy here on this earth by being written in the most famous book to ever exist- amongst other awards he will receive ( see Revelations 21:14). All this because a friend named Phillip brought him to Jesus.

So at this point, I am understanding;

1. The importance of friends who love God, that hold a role/position with God, can pray for you and bring you to Jesus.

2. That I need to be that friend myself.

The word of God is like a mirror it will always show you your reflection first, then it is coming for the people in the background.

Truth is, we have two types of friends in our lives. Friends sent from God and friends sent from satan. There is no in-between. One will push you to God’s destiny for your life, the other will push you to satan’s future for your life. Unfortunately, we are an easily influenced people. People who are closest to us have a direct impact on our focus and how we spend our time. God is saying some friendships are sent to distract us appear more valuable than they are but God in his mercy has shown us how to check the value. Now that God has shown us the scales, what are we going to do about it?

Written by: Elisarri