David and Jonathan

๐—ช๐—”๐—ฅ๐—  ๐—จ๐—ฃ

โ€ข What is the best encouragement youโ€™ve given or received? How did it affect you or the person you encouraged?

โ€ข Think of those who are closest to you. What makes them dependable and trustworthy?ย 

โ€ข Has anyone gotten jealous of you? How did you respond to it?


๐—ช๐—ข๐—ฅ๐——

๐˜ˆ๐˜ด ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ด๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜š๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ญ, ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜‘๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜‹๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ฅ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜‘๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ. ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜š๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฌ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ง๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณโ€™๐˜ด ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ. ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜‘๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜‹๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ฅ, ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ. ๐Ÿญ ๐—ฆ๐—”๐— ๐—จ๐—˜๐—Ÿ ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿด:๐Ÿญโ€“๐Ÿฏ


(Read also ๐Ÿญ ๐—ฆ๐—”๐— ๐—จ๐—˜๐—Ÿ ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿด:๐Ÿฐโ€“๐Ÿฑ.)


In success and in challenges, we can feel recharged or strengthened when we receive encouragement from others. In the Bible, we see this happen in the friendship between David and Jonathan. They considered themselves to be close friends and were loyal to one another. As we fulfill Godโ€™s call in our lives, itโ€™s important to build good relationships so that we may receive counsel and wisdom from those who have gone ahead of us and also encouragement and strength from those who walk alongside us. Today, letโ€™s look at the importance of helping others follow God and being with people who help us follow God, too.


๐Ÿญ. ๐—Ÿ๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฝ ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—š๐—ผ๐—ฑ.ย 

๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜‘๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜‹๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ฅ, ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ. ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜‘๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ง ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜‹๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ฅ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ด๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ต.ย ๐Ÿญ ๐—ฆ๐—”๐— ๐—จ๐—˜๐—Ÿ ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿด:๐Ÿฏโ€“๐Ÿฐ


After David defeated Goliath, Jonathanโ€”the son of King Saulโ€”saw something great in David. He gave his robe, armor, and weapons to David as a sign of great respect. When David used these, the Israelites recognized him as one acknowledged by a member of the royal family. Unknown to Jonathan, this act of friendship paved the way for David to fulfill his becoming king. Whether we know Godโ€™s call for them or not, our mindset should be to find people whom we can constantly encourage to live a life that honors God. We can help them grow in their journey of faith by giving our time, effort, or resources. Are there people you are helping in this season? How are you guiding them to be more like Christ?


๐Ÿฎ. ๐—•๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ผ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐—น๐—น ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฝ ๐˜‚๐˜€ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐—š๐—ผ๐—ฑโ€™๐˜€ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐˜€.

๐˜ˆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜‹๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ค๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด๐˜ง๐˜ถ๐˜ญ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜š๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ญ ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ, ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜š๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ญ ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ต ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ณ. ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜š๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ญโ€™๐˜ด ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ท๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ด.ย ๐Ÿญ ๐—ฆ๐—”๐— ๐—จ๐—˜๐—Ÿ ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿด:๐Ÿฑ


Even though Jonathan was the son of King Saul, his humility led him to become good friends with David. Rather than being jealous of Davidโ€™s accomplishments as his father was, Jonathan helped David several times and even warned him of Saulโ€™s threats towards him (1 Samuel 20). Their friendship was very close, even until Jonathanโ€™s death (2 Samuel 1:17โ€“27). In his lifetime, David also surrounded himself with good people in both the battlefield and leadership. As we obey Godโ€™s call for our lives, we need to surround ourselves with people who will build us up and point us to God. Who are the people who mentor you and walk with you? How do they help you live out Godโ€™s call for your life?


๐—”๐—ฃ๐—ฃ๐—Ÿ๐—œ๐—–๐—”๐—ง๐—œ๐—ข๐—ก

โ€ข Aside from David and Jonathanโ€™s example, what do godly friendships look like? How should you view friendships based on todayโ€™s discussion?

โ€ข Are there people you open up to and allow to speak into your life to help you live for God? How may you build a healthy relationship with them?

โ€ข Are you helping others live a godly life? Who are the people you can connect with this week?


๐—ฃ๐—ฅ๐—”๐—ฌ๐—˜๐—ฅ

โ€ข Thank God for the gift of friendship and for sending people who will challenge you to live for Him.

โ€ข Ask God to continue surrounding you with genuine friends who will help you fulfill Godโ€™s call. Pray that you would not resort to comparison, but become an encouragement and a blessing to those around you.

โ€ข Pray that God would use you to be a good friend to others. Ask God to protect your friendships so that you may point others to Him.