Another way of reading this proverb might be: “A man may have many fair-weathered ‘friends,’ but it is rare to have one who remains with him when trouble comes.”
Such a friend is rare indeed, for he “sticks closer” than his own family. Jesus is such a friend. As He told his disciples, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13). Jesus demonstrated this love when He died for us on the cross. O, what a Friend we have in Jesus!