“A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” Proverbs 18:24
Brothers are a man or boy in relation to other sons or daughters of one’s parents, or a male fellow believer.
You have heard the statement and, as I, have even tested the waters and lived it out, “Blood is thicker than water.” We have stood in the sanctuary as fellow believers say, “Our love is unconditional,” only to find out it is — as long as the conditions are to their liking. It’s sad to say, in some families, blood really doesn’t mean that much, and in some congregations, unconditional has conditions.
You, like I, at times have made decisions that were not the healthiest, affecting people around us that we never had any intention of hurting, hindering, or troubling. The aftermath of the situation is the thing we are never prepared for — the shunning, snubbing, exclusion, and banishment that comes when we find ourselves out of control with no one stable in our lives to give us the nudge we need to regain balance.
You know that moment … when friends, family, and foe says, “It stinks to be you” or “You made your bed, now lie in it” — the place where even your “brother” can’t help you.
Maybe you are there today, trying to regain balance, direction, and a change of desire. Can we point you to a place of stability? Solomon wrote a beautiful, poetic, lyrical expression about Jesus: a friend that sticketh closer than a brother!
Paul penned, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee,” in Hebrews 13:5, and calls Him a friend of no condemnation in Romans 8:1. You may feel this moment will never end, the whirlwind will never stop, and the circus music of life is drowning out the sound of hope. No matter who has separated themselves from you, if you look, Jesus is still there waiting on you to turn.
Our prayer for you this week: May you realize Jesus is still with you.
