Pastor John’s favorite singer tells us “You’ve Got a Friend,” but with all the troubles in the world today, we sometimes wonder if that’s true. The dictionary tells us a friend is “a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard,” or “a person who gives assistance, a patron or a supporter,” but what’s your definition of a friend? One of the dozens or hundreds you’ve accumulated on Facebook? How about the car salesman who says, “Hello, friend”? Your best pal you go to dinner or the game with? Or your significant other? Maybe it’s your dog.

The point is that we all have different notions of what a friend is, but I believe true friends reveal themselves when times are darkest. Whether it’s the death of a loved one, the loss of a job or a crisis of faith, we’ve all had times in our lives when we feel as if we’re virtually alone in the world and then, if you’re fortunate, it happens: the friend arrives to bail you out, to be a shoulder to cry on or simply to say things will be okay.

Think for a minute about those occasions in your lifetime. Was it the same friend each time who came to your aid? For me it was, but it took me a while to figure that out. I’m not talking about the wonderful people I’ve been fortunate to know; I’m referring to Jesus. He’s around all the time, not just when we need him, and just like our mortal friends, we shouldn’t take him for granted. I encourage you this Lenten season, as well as every day, to increase the times of acknowledgement that Jesus is continually in our lives.

It goes way beyond phrases like “thank God it’s Friday!” It takes a concerted effort of consciously remembering that he is there beside you. For me, it was much more apparent that Jesus was with me as I was praying for a safe outcome when my wife, Shantel, was in surgery last year than it was to remember that he was also standing right beside us when we said “I do” 10 years ago. The reality is that he was there beside us for those two major events in our lives, and every moment in between and every moment before and after.

A true friend is there in the best of times and in the worst of times, and we need to remember that. When you’re a true believer, you won’t hear any words more true than, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”

Mitch Krebs