Have you ever heard the phrase, “a friend in need is a friend indeed”? I’m not sure what that means, but I know my friends have been there through the good days and the days that seem like one big letdown sandwich.

I’ve also found in those dark days who my true friends are. They love me with a real concern, not for what I have to offer them.

Jesus took his best friends with him into the Garden of Gethsemane. When he needed them most, they took a nap and later scattered in the other direction. Wow.

As a friend of Jesus, you might say that you’d never do that, but you are lying to yourself. And so am I. We sleep through worship, and I’m not just talking about ZZZZs. We show up physically, but mentally we are elsewhere. We follow Jesus when it’s convenient for us and fits into our schedules, but when the going gets tough, we too hightail it in another direction.  

We can focus too heavily on the sleeping guys in the Garden with Jesus, but a better focus is on the One who said, “Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!” (Matthew 26:46). He was determined to save us and cover all our sins, to forgive us for those moments we’ve put ourselves and our stuff before him and others. 

That is truly a friend who loves at all times. A friend you can count on. A friend in need has a friend in Jesus indeed.