Good morning!

In verse 24, Solomon speaks about how some people have trouble making and keeping friends!

Thankfully, Solomon states that the answer to overcoming that problem is to be friendly!

To make and keep friends, we must love them through disagreements we need to serve them, visit them and give them our affection so that one day, what we have placed in them can be returned to us in a later season of the relationship.

Solomon says we need to sew this kind of seed so that in our times of trouble, we can have someone to lean on and comfort us. While many people often expect to obtain comfort and relief from relatives, that is not always the case.

Proverbs 18:24 points out how sometimes a bond with a friend is stronger than the bond between blood relatives and how great a blessing it is for a relative to also be a close friend!

This verse ends by pointing out how Christ is a friend to all Believers and sticks closer than a brother!

Proverbs 17:17 – A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity).

It is encouraging to see how close Christ desires to be with us and how close He can be with us when we allow Him to.

Finally, be careful to not confuse friends with associates. Far too many people confide in persons they thought were friends, only to painfully find out later they were just associates. Not realizing they had been giving someone they thought was a friend confidential information they should not have been entrusted with. Ouch!

Hint: To help determine a friend from an associate, give the relationship time and apply wisdom (See James 1:5-8).

…If any of you lack wisdom, let him/her ask of God…

Have a very friendly day operating in the wisdom of God!