Scr.- Prov.17:17; 18:24; John 15:13
Key verse: Prov.17:17- "A friend loves at all times, and a brother in born for adversity." ---NKJV
You know the terminology 'fair-weather friends' as a reference to those persons who will gather around you when things are going well, when there is a social advantage or benefit from being connected with you in a particular way. Many people want to be your friend when you are perceived as popular and successful.
Prov.19:6- "Many entreat the favor of the nobility, and every man is a friend to one who gives gifts."
Fair-weather friends, though, will not love you at all times, but will swiftly abandon you when things go wrong for you. Should you become a victim of malicious gossip or unavoidable monetary distress or severe medical hardship, the typical fair-weather friend will suddenly disappear. The Psalmist experienced the misery of such abandonment: "My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague, and my relatives stand afar off"(Ps.38:11).
There are plenty of fair-weather friends to go around, but the foul-weather friend is the one who will love you at all times and who will stick closer than a brother. The foul-weather friend will be prepared to listen to you and pray for you when times get tough. The foul-weather friend will not vanish from sight or stand afar off when the adversities of life pile up against you.
It is possible to be very friendly, yet not be a foul-weather friend. You can be courteous, you can radiate good manners and congeniality---and not be a true friend. Outward friendliness is no guarantee of reliable, deep friendship.
We think of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Ultimate Friend Who laid down His life for us. How true.
He also challenged His disciples and was periodically blunt with them: "Are you still also without understanding?"--Matt.15:16.
Like Jesus Christ, the genuine foul-weather friend will challenge you, may exhort and even rebuke you in certain situations, but will never turn his back on you. "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful."--Prov.27:6.
And: Being a foul-weather friend takes effort, determination, courage.
Steve Brown shared this story:
One time I attended an ecclesiastical meeting where a friend of mine talked about the need for people being introduced to the Savior so they could be saved. But in this particular meeting, salvation wasn't thought to be a proper topic for discussion. In fact, people laughed at my brother in Christ. I didn't laugh. But I didn't stand with my friend either. I kept quiet.
That night, in my shame, I prayed, "Father, from now on when people laugh at one of Your servants, they will laugh at two of us because I'll stand with my brother."