We have been talking about the life of King David in our Sunday school class the last few weeks.  In a recent lesson we discussed times that David received rebukes from others in his life and how he responded.  We talked about the time when Nathan confronted David about his sin with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:1 – 25) and when Joab rebuked David for his actions following the death of his son Absalom (2 Samuel 19:1 – 8).    In both of those instances, David received the counsel and advice from those who spoke to him.  A couple of verses that have come up during our discussions.  One of them is Proverbs 11:14 and the other is Proverbs 27:6.

Proverbs 11:14 Where there is no guidance the people fall, but in abundance of counselors there is victory.

Proverbs 27:6   Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.

We all face times in our lives when it would be beneficial to confer, plan and strategize with others.  There are times in our lives when all of us could use some guidance and advice.  And there are times when we have gotten off track and we need someone to help set us straight.  My experience has been that we don’t always recognize those times when we need counsel and we don’t always appreciate it when someone seeks to speak to us.  It is during those times that we need someone who loves us enough to tell us the truth.  Faithful indeed are the wounds of a friend.  It is good to have someone in our circle who is willing to speak truth into our lives, even if it might not be something we want to hear.

I pray that we would all have those kinds of friends.   And I pray that we would all be those kinds of friends.