In prosperity it is not hard to make and to have friends; and the rising clouds of adversity see them depart from you as readily as in the sunny day they came. But the friend whom you can trust in any sort of weather--who [225] will share your joys and be your stay in trouble--he is a treasure. The Lord is such a friend as that, and you can not miss it if you trust him. But friendship is two-sided. God was Abraham's friend; Abraham was the friend of God. You trust the Lord--can the Lord trust you? Will you stand for him in difficulties, in sufferings, in darkness, against public opinion, against father and mother and loved ones and earthly friends if need be? Or does the first loss or disappointment set you to murmuring against him? Can the flatteries and wheedlings of certain associates draw you away from his ways and word? Think about it, and make sure that you be true to your Lord. "Many believed on his name, beholding his signs which he did. But Jesus did not trust himself unto them, for that he knew all men." (John 2:23, 24.) He knows us.

[TAG 225-226]