Thursday Reading: Proverbs 17:17
Key Verse: Proverbs 17:17
17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for the time of trouble.
Devotion:
This is one of those verses that you read over quickly and do not give much of a thought for until you are looking for something and suddenly God opens your eyes to the verse content! When we look for friends we do not tend to look very deep at first because we are glad to have any friends at first. If, however, we continue to just accept people as friends without caring what they are like, we will pretty soon be influenced by them and start to do the things that they do. I can look back at my school days and think of all the bad decisions that I made about who to hand around with and see just how much trouble I got into with them!
A friend is someone who is going to stick with you, both during the good times and in the troubled times as well. You will be amazed at the number of people who will be willing to be your friend when you are well off and like to share your wealth – but take a second look when you are in troubled times and see who your real friends are. We are like that too because we are easily influenced my earthly things. It is only when you find true friendship that you forget about circumstances and stick with the person. As Christians, that should be our starting point... We should ignore the earthly circumstances and concentrate on the person and on God.
A brother or close family member is someone who is going to stick with you at all times. When you get desperate, they will be there waiting. When you can’t find help, they will help. When you think all is lost, they find you. Family members are closer than friends could ever be because God is the one that instituted the family unit in the first place. A friend may well cave in when their arms are twisted behind their back, but family members stick together. As Christians, we are born into God’s family and it is there where we should bring up our earthly family as well as accepting other Christians into God’s family. When we are part of God’s family we then find out just how much God is willing to do for us!
Points to Ponder:
Have you made bad choices before?
Have you look to God as your Father?
