Fair Weather Friends and Faith

I recently heard a saying that describes two kinds of friends:

Good friends are like diamonds, precious and rare.

False friends are like leaves, found everywhere.

Fair weather friends love you as long as the weather (or situation) is fine. But when things get uncomfortable or we need help, we learn who our true friends are. I venture to say that a fair weather friend is not really a friend at all. 

Just after posting my last blog, we had a very difficult week. We lost a dear family member on Monday, but were comforted when we got home by cards and words of concern from friends via email and Facebook .

The next day, we got up to the news of the horrible earthquake and tsunami in Japan. After watching that news story, our daughter called saying our grandson’s school was dismissed early because of wildfires headed for his school. We turned on the news again and watched as the fire consumed much of the community of Harrah, Oklahoma, the town of our last pastorate. Many acres were burned, and at least fifteen homes were destroyed, including two of our church friends.

The next day we sent a group from our church on a trip to Mexico to deliver food and clothing to an orphanage. We prayed for their safety, knowing that members of the drug cartels will kill anyone that happens to be in the right place at the wrong time.

If you think I’m exaggerating the danger all around us, turn on the news and just listen for a while. The world is in a mess, and it’s not a good time for fair weather friends.

Some of us also have fair weather faith. We don’t really think much about God until things get difficult and we need his help. This is evident across America. On September 11, 2001, almost everyone was calling on God, even our lawmakers on Capitol Hill. But before that happened and once the crisis passed, many of those same people voted to keep God out of the public arena. When the going gets tough, we say we have faith in God and pray for His help. But is that really faith?

I didn’t need fair weather friends that week, and I surely don’t need fair weather faith. I want a faith that is just as real in the good times as it is in the time of need. Real faith can be seen because it is evident by our actions. The book of James tells us that “…faith without works is dead.”

The world is not getting any better. We will face more tough times ahead, and we’ll need both our friends and our faith. The kind of faith we need is an all-weather faith. The kind of friend we need is a friend like Jesus. The Bible calls Him a friend that sticks closer than a brother, and promises that He will never leave nor forsake us.

How has your faith sustained you in time of need? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below.