“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Proverbs 17:17). 

One of God’s greatest gifts is being a true and loving friend and a brother. He is there when others may have abandoned you and moved on. The love of a friend is not always soft and easy. There are occasions when tough love is necessary. An honest friend is not the person that agrees with our wrongdoings. He insists that his brother follow a course of righteousness. He is neither a fatalist nor an eternal optimist. He is acquainted with human frailties, but helps to seek a path for recovery and restoration. 

The adversity may be external or internal. The troubled soul is in need of someone who will help him take an objective look at what path he should take. There are many who fall off the cliff without warning. Their companions were too afraid to say anything, thinking that they may cease walking together. While there are others who do not care enough to speak the truth in love. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend.” But there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.