Healthy Friendships With Other Women

A Note from Marci:  Ladies I have been working on a devotional to share with the women at our church at a ladies tea and the topic is Friendship. The excerpt below was from the Revive Our Hearts website and was written by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. As you read the expert below may you be in prayer to be a friend who demonstrates the qualities laid before us in Titus 2.

“How can I have healthy relationships with other women?

Women are wired to be relational creatures. When there’s exciting news, heartbreak, disappointment, or the need of a shoulder to cry on, we usually turn to a friend.

Within the Titus 2 passage there is a valuable word of exhortation that should be a vital aspect of our friendships: “Encourage the young women to . . . be sensible” (v. 5 NASB).

This one little word is packed with meaning. It’s the Greek word sóphrón—to be of sound mind, self-controlled, temperate. To operate with this mindset is to use wisdom, taking the knowledge of the Word of God and applying it practically to the demands of daily life in order to live life to God’s glory.

To be a sóphrón woman means that your behavior is directed by God’s truth rather than driven by your emotions. When faced with challenging circumstances, the tendency for most women is to react—not in wisdom—but with our emotions! This is where being a Titus 2 friend can be helpful. A Titus 2 friend demonstrates:

•A listening ear
•An open heart
•Tenderness
•Confidentiality
•Loyalty
•Humility
•Sensitivity to the Spirit
•Devotion
•A sense of humor (especially a willingness to laugh at yourself)
•Grace for “life interruptions”
•A heart that forgives quickly and frequently
•Letting go of things that don’t really matter while holding on to things that do
•Patience
•Forgetting the worst and remembering the best
•Humbly confronting when necessary
•Speaking truth in love—always
•Serving as a faithful encourager
•Taking time to cultivate a long history together
•Commitment to prayerful intercession

Ask God to bring friends into your life who will point you to truth when you are struggling. Don’t wait for this kind of person to befriend you, though; take the first step by asking God to lead you to someone who needs a friend. Be this kind of friend (John 15:13; 1 John 3:16–18).”

~ Nancy Leigh DeMoss