Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend, and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity. Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away. Proverbs 27:10
The contrast here is between “a neighbor who is near” and “a brother who is far away.” When the day of calamity comes, you can’t show up at your brother’s house, if you only have a distant relationship with him.
Cultivate close relationships. They may be old friends (your father’s friends are those you’ve known since you were young), or they may be friends you’ve made as an adult. These are the people who will be there for you when the day of trouble comes. A true friend will be present in times of trouble. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psa. 46:1).
A true friend will also speak into your life in a way that does you good. “Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel” (Prov. 27:9). The sweetness of a true friend comes from the way that his or her words build you up.
You see this in the friendship of David and Jonathan when Jonathan “strengthened [David’s] hand in God” (1 Sam. 23:16). Because a true friend has access to your life, he or she is able to tell you things that others would not say. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” (Prov. 27:6).
It’s very easy for us to filter out from the Bible what we don’t want to hear. But if you do that, all you are left with is an echo of your own voice, and you lose the friendship of Jesus. Open your life most fully to the friends you trust most deeply. Open your life to Jesus and to His truth even when it hurts, because when His Word hurts, it also heals.
When was the last time a true friend spoke a hard truth to you? What was your reaction when you heard it?
