17th.: Forsake not thy Friends
How often do the frustrations of life weigh more and more upon us?
Frustrations caused by coworkers, friends, family, spouses,
(or life’s general pitfalls, newspaper headlines, etc.)
How often do these frustration produce negative feelings, bitterness, paranoia, etc.?
Feelings we may not be aware of.
The Scripture advises us,
“Looking diligently, … lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you. And thereby many be defiled” (Heb. 12:15).
This is something that can happen to any of us.
How many of us have then visited a friend, after many years.
Have any of those friends seem to have changed - for the worse.
What will we do?
We know to not gossip about them.
Yet, neither do we want to be with them anymore.
Nor do we take those concerns for our friend to the Lord.
Proverbs 27:10a tells us, “Thine own friend, and thy father’s [and mother’s] friend forsake not.” (Pr. 27:10a)
We are not to turn our backs on our changed friends, per-se.
James 5:16 has an interesting bit of advice,
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man [or woman] avails much.”
Our friends may be blind to the bitterness, paranoia, whatever, in their hearts.
Therefore they cannot ‘confess’ this fault.
Ezekiel 22:30 looks for someone to ‘stand in the gap’.
To plug the hole in someone else's defenseless state.
We can 'plug the hole' for someone else, by asking God to help our friend.
Hebrews 6:10 tells us, "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work, and labour of love,
which ye have showed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister"
Will God then reward us for standing up for our friend,
for labouring in prayer until something positive happens?