A Friend for All Times
By Kristi Woods
“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.” Proverbs 17:17
Have you ever walked through a rough time in life, days or months that felt especially dark? Maybe you’ve experienced the heaviness of discouragement, the threat of depression, or the stress of a new situation? What friends flanked your side during those difficulties?
Several years ago, I fell into a deep, dark pit. Anger coated my daily attitude and interactions with my kids, I struggled to concentrate, and hopelessness hit. Being a mom of three youngsters under the age of seven with a deployed husband proved hard—very hard.
During that time, two friends came alongside me. A married couple from North Carolina stood constant and faithful. They invited my family to dinner, entertained the young ones while offering me time alone, and encouraged prayer. I thank God for their friendship, for their “brotherly love” during that dark season.
Some friendships, the ones based upon what Scripture refers to as “brotherly love”, remain during good seasons and dark ones too. They refuse to waiver when life grows hard.
For example, take David, a man whom God had anointed to become king, and his friend, Jonathan. When Jonathan’s father, Saul, Israel’s first king, determined to kill David, Jonathan warned his friend. Brotherly love took action.
So did Saul.
In anger, he hurled a spear at his own son. Talk about adversity! But in the end, the young man’s love was trustworthy, protective, and right.
This example allows us to consider our friendships. Who remains beside during good times and bad? How do they offer Christ-centered love? Perhaps they provide opportunity for us to thank God for them.
Likewise, how do we approach our friendships? Is there a friend drowning in a dark season right now, one we can reach out to and come alongside during their difficulty?
Kristi Woods, a contributing author to Wholly Loved Ministries’ devotional contentand former pew sitter, longs to see women transform from Sunday pew sitters to Monday through Sunday worshipers. Kristi, a writer and speaker, blogs regularly and offers faith-building tools for walking deeper with God at www.KristiWoods.net. She contributes monthly at iBelieve.com and Crosswalk.com and is published in various Chicken Soup for the Soul publications. Kristi, her husband, and their three children survived a nomadic, military lifestyle, and have set roots in Oklahoma. Connect with Kristi at KristiWoods.net.
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