Walking with the Wise #279: You Have a Friend Request

“A friend is always loyal,


and a brother is born to help in time of need.”
—Proverbs 17:17 (NLT)

On Facebook we have many different “friends.” But the truth of the matter is that not very many are those whom we would truly call “friends.” They are acquaintances, colleagues, or classmates—people from our past we want to catch up with, or someone we have recently met, go to church with, etc.

There are only a precious few who could be given the title “close friend” or “true friend.” Most everyone else is an acquaintance. And these true friends are those with whom we’ve gone through the best and worst of times, who have stuck with us during the droughts and valleys of life, know who we really are and love us still the same. They are the ones who’ve been there for us when others fell away, who continued to love and stand by as the thread of life appeared to be unraveling.

Having created us, God knows us better than anyone. He knows that we need friends and He also tells us through His Word what a good friend should look like. Like today’s proverb says, “a friend is always loyal.” The literal wording in Hebrew is “one who loves at all times.” They stand by us, listen, encourage and, if necessary—rebuke us. They aren’t afraid to speak the truth in love.

The second part of our proverb reminds us that God has not only given us friends, but family also to help in our time of need. Together the first part and the second part of the proverb remind us where to go when times get tough—family and close friends. For myself, this proverb affirms my experience. Three years ago I was looking for a job and the economy wasn’t doing very well. I had one job lined up, was told I was hired and planned accordingly, only to have them back out at the last minute. That meant I was scrambling. I had let my lease run out, didn’t have the money to sign another one, not to mention I knew I would have to move as soon as I found a job, so I needed a place to go—and that is where my family and friends stepped in. For the next several months, as I continued to look for a job, we had family and friends alike open their homes to us. At the time, we were a family of four, not a challenge that many can meet—but they did. Both my parents and in-laws allowed us to stay with them for a time, and then some old friends opened up their home for us, even though it meant that they were severely cramped and inconvenienced. They proved to me that real friends do exist and they are willing to sacrifice for us, so that we might be taken care of—true demonstrations of servitude and love—tangible examples of Christ.

I pray that we all might have friends that love us at all times, but I also pray that we all might be the kind of friends who do the same. May God strengthen us to be such friends that we open our homes to those in need, and may He likewise give us such friends that He desires we be. Amen.