Job 6:14 (GW)
“A friend should treat a troubled person kindly, even if he abandons the fear of the Almighty.”
Do you know the Bible says that even when people turn their backs on God, they still deserve to have friends?
A real friend shows up when you’re in a crisis. If you’re not sure who your real friends are, wait until your next crisis. Your acquaintances may disappear pretty quickly. But your real friends will keep showing up no matter what.
This past week our church witnessed “real friendship” in action. Many people lost electric power and some even had water pipes burst, but we witnessed Christian brothers and sisters in action as they invited those who lost power to stay in their homes. One family even had a fire in their apartment complex and had to evacuate immediately but found refuge at church and then at a friend’s house.
The first thing everybody needs in a crisis is other people. You need a support group—mature Christian brothers and sisters who will love you, care for you, comfort you, encourage you, support you, meet your needs, and counsel you.
Maybe you’re thinking, “But wait a minute! Don’t you need to pray first in a crisis rather than turn to other people?” Well, yes, that’s great if you can. But the truth is that in a crisis you’re often in so much stress and shock that you don’t even know what to pray. It’s at that point that you need other people praying for you.
You need your real friends to say, “We’ll pray for you. We’ll believe for you. We’ll be there for you. No matter what.”
Choose to be a true friend to your Christian brothers and sisters in crisis today. And when you go through hard times, you’ll find yourself held up by those same people.
「那將要灰心、離棄全能者、不敬畏 神的人，他的朋友當以慈愛待他。」（約伯記6:14）
你是否知道聖經說，即使有人背棄上帝，他們仍當有朋友？
遇到危機時真正的朋友會出現。如果你不確定誰是真正朋友，請等下一個危機。很多熟識者可能很快就會消失，但真正的朋友卻總出現在你身旁。
過去一周，我們的教會見證了「真友誼」的行動。許多人家中停電，甚至爆水管，但是我們見證了基督徒彼此相愛的行動，他們邀請那些失去電力的人待在家裡。有個家庭的公寓甚至著火，迫使他們不得不立即撤離，但他們先後在教堂與朋友家避難。
危機中首先需要的是他人。你需要支持小組─成熟的基督徒弟兄姐妹，他們會愛你、關懷安慰你、鼓勵支持你，按照你的需求並提供建議。
也許你心想：「等等！遇到危機時難道不需要先禱告而不是找人嗎？」當然，可以的話真的太好了。但實際上，人在危機中承受太大的壓力和震驚，甚至不知道該怎樣禱告時，你需要他人的代禱。
你需要真朋友對你說：「我們會為你禱告，我們會為你有信心，無論發生甚麼，我們會站在你身旁。」
選擇成為危機中基督徒弟兄姐妹的真正朋友。等到你經歷艱難的時候，會發現這群人大大支持著你度過難關。
～ Rev. Jireh Lin 林以勒牧師 ～