1 Samuel 20 - Anatomy of a Faithful Friend

LINK: 1 Samuel 20

This post is dedicated to my faithful friends. You know who you are, and I love you!

BACKGROUND

Jonathan proved faithful to the covenant he had made by warning David of his father's intention to kill him. Jonathan gave up his future kingship out of love for a friend and an understanding of the sovereignty of God. He only asked that David deal kindly with his family in the future.

REFLECTION

Oh, to have and be a faithful friend like Jonathan. I feel so blessed to have such faithful friends that I have had for many years. I have made a few mistakes in my choice of friends in the past, and I have reaped a world of heartache. That is not true anymore. As I have grown and become healthier, I am more discerning about friendships.

APPLICATION

Thank God today for the faithful friends He has put in your life and go one step further: tell them how much you appreciate them!

If you feel lacking in the friendship area, pray that God will provide such a friend. Pray that God would make you become a friend like Jonathan.

Here is something I read in The Daily Walk:

Is there a Jonathan in your life?

• Someone who knows you fully and accepts you completely.

• Someone with whom you can share your deepest hurts.

• Someone who will listen without lecturing, comfort without condemning, and encourage without criticizing.

• Someone who will defend you when you're not around.

• Someone whose greatest joy comes from your happiness.

• Someone who watches out for your well-being, even at the potential risk of his own.

• Someone who grieves when you are grieved, rejoices when you are promoted, bleeds when you are wounded

Friendship is costly, demanding sacrifice and sensitivity, but that's what makes it so precious. Have you discovered the priceless treasure of finding -- or becoming -- a Jonathan? 

(The Daily Walk, March 21, 2008)

PRAYER

Lord, I pray that we all would taste the joy of deep, faithful friends. Help us to be better friends to others. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

To be a good friend, we need the character quality of faithfulness. Read this excerpt from MANY ASPIRE, FEW ATTAIN:

9. Be faithful in the little things

“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much, and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much” (Luke 16:10).

Many aspire, but few attain because they are unfaithful in the little things. Lorne Sanny, former president of the Navigators, has said that. Charlie Riggs was one of the few men he has ever worked with who could be counted on to carry through a request. Lorne could check it off as accomplished without ever going back to see if it was done. That challenges me tremendously, and I hope you also.

Can people say that about you? When you are given an assignment, when somebody’s asked you to do something, can they mark it off as being completed? No matter how small it is - whether it’s picking up a couple of postage stamps or mailing a letter - when people have asked you to do something, can they count on you to get it done? Are you faithful in that which is least? Jesus said there is no way He is going to give you greater responsibilities until you have proven yourself faithful in the little things.

Promotion, when it comes, doesn't come from others, it comes from God. “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: He putteth down one, and setteth up another” (Psalm 75:6,7). Make sure you commit yourself to faithfulness in even the smallest areas of responsibility.