The Friend Who Never Leaves

The Friend Who Never Leaves: What John 15 Has Continued to Teach Me

When I was writing my meditation for The Upper Room, I kept returning to John 15:11, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (NIV).

As I sat with those words, another thought kept coming to me: the Friend who never leaves. I began thinking about what it means to remain connected to someone. In John 15, Jesus speaks about abiding in him. I found myself wondering what that kind of relationship looks like when life is no longer peaceful—when circumstances change, answers are delayed, and we are taken somewhere we never expected to be.

That is when I thought about a simple story of a fish and the water. A fish lives in a river and depends on it every moment, yet it may never stop to notice the water surrounding it. Then one day, the fish is caught and taken out of the river. Suddenly, everything familiar is gone. The fish may feel abandoned, as though the place that sustained it has disappeared. But the water is still there.

That simple picture stayed with me. It reminded me that we can sometimes experience our relationship with God in much the same way. We may be taken out of familiar places by disappointment, uncertainty, change, or circumstances we never expected. We may look around and ask, “God, where are you?” But perhaps God has not moved. Perhaps we are simply learning to recognize God’s presence in a place we did not choose.

Since writing my meditation, this thought has become even more personal. I have found myself in my own season of waiting and uncertainty, wondering what the next chapter of my life will look like. There have been moments when I have felt outside my comfort zone, unsure of what lies ahead. I have prayed, waited, and sometimes wondered what God was doing. And then I remember the thought that came to me while I was writing: the Friend who never leaves is still with me.

John 15 has reminded me that remaining in Christ is not only for seasons when everything makes sense. It is also for seasons when we have questions. Abiding means staying connected, even when we cannot see the whole picture. Perhaps that is where the joy Jesus speaks about begins—not necessarily when our circumstances change, but when we discover that we are not facing them alone.

As a writer from Limpopo, South Africa, I am grateful that a thought that began quietly in my own life can now become part of The Upper Room community. This experience has taught me to pay attention to ordinary thoughts, questions, and moments that may carry a deeper message.

Sometimes a simple image stays with us long after the writing is finished. For me, it is the fish and the water. The river may change. Our circumstances may change. We may find ourselves somewhere we never expected to be. But the Friend who never leaves has not changed.

And as I continue learning to remain in Christ, I am discovering that the complete joy Jesus speaks about in John 15:11 is not dependent on having an easy life. Sometimes it is found in the quiet assurance that wherever life takes us, God—the Friend who never leaves us—is already there.