Faith Baptist Church
03/01/26 Worship Service
      • Psalms 91:1-3ESV

      • Psalms 91:4-6ESV

      • Psalms 91:7-10ESV

      • Psalms 91:11-13ESV

      • Psalms 91:14-16ESV

  • I Run To Christ
  • How Can I Fear?
  • He Is Able To Deliver Thee
  • Abba, Father
  • How do you suffer well if you are innocent? How do you endure pain and sorrow when you didn’t sin? How do you endure sorrow when its the result of someone else's sin?
    1 Samuel 20:1 ESV
    1 Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?”
    How do you endure that kind of suffering? Let’s think about some examples.
    What about the godly wife who is married to an unbelieving husband. Because this godly woman lives out her faith her unsaved spouse treats her like dirt. He insults her. He belittles her. He mocks her. He may even divorce her and leave her with nothing. And this godly woman has to endure suffering that isn’t her fault. In fact she is living faithfully before the Lord! And yet her life is constant pain and agony. How do you explain that? How do you think about that? How do you view God during that? How do we tend to think about God when we go through this kind of suffering? This goldy woman may identify well with David’s words, “What have I done? What is my guilt?”
    What about the young boy who is going through that awkward stage we call being a teenager. He is a wonderful young man, made in the image of God and yet he isn’t one of the cool kids. He can’t dunk a basketball, in fact he can barely dribble. He isn’t the class comedian. He isn’t from a wealthy family so he doesn’t have cool clothes or the latest iPhone. Yet he loves Jesus, but he doesn’t fit in. And because he doesn’t fit in his life becomes one unending trial. He knows what its like to be an outcast. He is well acquainted with insults and ridicule. He is not suffering because of his own sin, and yet he is suffering. David’s words are his words...“What have I done? What is my guilt?” How do you endure suffering like that?
    You are a Christian who works a secular job. You strive to model Christ in the workplace. You act justly. You are honest, fair, kind, and faithful. You even take opportunities to share you faith with your coworkers. Perhaps you read your bible during your lunch break. You pass when your employees go out to the bar after work. And because you are living out your Christian faith you suffer. You get passed over for a promotion. You get fewer sales calls. Your coworkers mock you privately and some even to your face. Maybe they even take advantage of you. How do you endure that kind of sorrow? Do you repeat David’s words... “What have I done? What is my guilt?”
    How should we respond when suffering isn’t our fault? Let’s look at the story of David. I want to point out several truths that will strength us during life’s trials.
    What would suffering well look like?
    Colossians 1:11–12 ESV
    11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
    How do we have all endurance and patience and do it with joy and thanksgiving? This is the bar! This is what God offers to the Christian who is suffering unjustly. How do we do this?
    How should we endure difficult suffering?

    1). In difficult suffering we need honest evaluations

    1 Samuel 20:1 ESV
    1 Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?”
    Fled from Naioth in Ramah… review the context of the story so far.
    We are in the David narrative arc of the book of Samuel.
    Saul despised the Lord on multiple occasions.
    Saul offered the burnt offering himself at Gilgal instead of waiting for Samuel.
    Saul did not devote to destruction the Amalekites as God has commanded him. He spared Agag and the best of the spoil from the city.
    And because Saul rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord rejected Saul from being king over Israel. God promised Saul that he would tear the kingdom of Israel away from him and give it to another—a young shepherd boy named David.
    God did this by establishing David in the eyes of the nation of Israel. First, through David’s battle with a giant.
    Then, God gave David success whenever he went out to battle. So much so that the women in all the cities of Israel came up with a little song. Do you remember the lyrics?
    “Saul has struck down his thousands and David his ten thousands.”
    How did Saul react to that? He became very angry! Can you think of anyone else in your bible that had a worse temper than Saul?
    And what actions did Saul’s temper produce?
    He tried to pin David to the wall with a spear on multiple occasions.
    He set up a marriage between David and his daughter Michal. Saul tried to use the bride-price to kill David. Do you remember what Saul asked for? 100 foreskins of the Philistines. Why? Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.
    Saul commanded all of his palace servants and his own son to kill David.
    He tried to pin David to the wall with a spear for a third time.
    He set up spies to watch David’s house so he could kill him. David had to escape through a window and Michal set up a manikin of sorts to trick Saul’s men.
    David fled to Samuel at Ramah. And Saul sent through parties of men to Ramah to kill David. And when they all failed Saul himself pursued David to Ramah and the Spirit of God came upon Saul and humbled him and caused Saul to lie naked in the dust day and night because Saul sought to kill the Lord’s anointed.
    Now how would you feel if the most powerful man in the country had attempted to kill on you ten different occasions? That’s what is going through David’s head in v. 1!
    1 Samuel 20:1 “1 Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?””
    There is wisdom in David’s actions here in v. 1.
    David is in a trial. Literally multiples trials for his very life. And he is trying to wrap his head around everything that is happening to him.
    So he comes to Jonathan and asks a very important question. “Are these trials the consequence of my own sin?”
    1 Samuel 20:1 ESV
    “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?”
    Why is this a wise move on David’s part?
    When we go through trials it is rare that we are completely innocent of sin.
    Illustration: Marriage counseling. Fix her or fix him, never fix me! People with marriage problems come to the table believing that the suffering they are going through isn’t their fault. They believe they are innocent and they are suffering because of their spouses sin. That scenario is rare. The truth is there is sin on both sides. And the most helpful way to navigate out of the troubled storms of their marriage is for both spouses to seek the counsel of another mature believer to help them discern if their is sin in their life.
    Ask someone genuinely, “How big is the log in my own eye?”
    Why do we need to ask someone else? Jeremiah 17:9 who can quote it?
    Jeremiah 17:9 “9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
    Jeremiah 17:9 CSB
    9 The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?
    Refutation: Pastor, I don’t think I could do that! I don’t trust anyone enough. And no one knows me well enough to be of any help.
    Do you have a Jonathan in your life? Jonathan was the perfect person to help David.
    He loved David. He was a true friend. He is the son of the King. He knows the what is going on in the palace. He is fully qualified to answer David’s question.
    Do you have a Jonathan in your life?
    How should we endure difficult suffering?

    2). In difficult suffering we need transparent relationships

    1 Samuel 20:2–3 ESV
    2 And he said to him, “Far from it! You shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me. And why should my father hide this from me? It is not so.” 3 But David vowed again, saying, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.”
    “There is but a step between me and death.”
    Do you think David is afraid? How much fear is in David’s heart?
    What is David afraid of? Obviously David is afraid of Saul.
    Is David afraid of Jonathan? Why might David be afraid of Jonathan? David is a step from death’s door.
    I’m reminded of the quote from the Lord of the Rings,
    “Your Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while all the Company is true.”
    This is David and Jonathan. Jonathan is Saul’s son. Why does that matter? Jonathan is heir to the throne. David is literally going to put his life in Jonathan’s hands.
    Can we call that transparency?
    Illustration: Getting caught when I was on third shift watching TV instead of doing my job. I felt a lot of shame and guilt that morning as I drove home. How do I handle this? Who do I tell? Thankfully I was able to tell my wife and she was very gracious and kind to me.
    I never told anyone about it at seminary. I never told anyone about it at my local church. Why? I was terrified. What will they say, what will they do?
    Do you feel that way? Is fear keeping you from being transparent?
    It is very difficult to go through trials alone. Sin thrives in the darkness. Satan is victorious when he can isolate you.
    Like a lion when he isolates a wildebeest from the herd, so Satan devours believers who suffer alone.
    We will pursue transparency and fellowship with one another, resisting the temptation to hide our struggles and sins, so that we might help each other through frequent encouragement, patient admonition, and faithful prayer (I John 1:6-10; James 5:16; I Thess. 4:18; 5:11; Col. 3:16).
    Pastor Jon I am terrified to trust someone that much!
    How should we endure difficult suffering?

    3). In difficult suffering we need trustworthy friends

    1 Samuel 20:4 ESV
    4 Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.”
    Whatever you say, I will do for you. This is a very difficult promise for Jonathan to make. This promise will put Jonathan’s life in just as much jeopardy as David.
    What is David going to ask of Jonathan?
    1 Samuel 20:5–7 ESV
    5 David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit at table with the king. But let me go, that I may hide myself in the field till the third day at evening. 6 If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the clan.’ 7 If he says, ‘Good!’ it will be well with your servant, but if he is angry, then know that harm is determined by him.
    Explain David’s proposal.
    1 Samuel 20:8 ESV
    8 Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. But if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?”
    v. 8- “deal kindly with your servant” deal with me according to hesed love, covenant keeping love Jonathan- “for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you.”
    When?
    1 Samuel 18:1–4 “1 As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2 And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house. 3 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt.”
    What was the significance of Jonathan giving David his armor, sword, bow, and belt? These were the royal dress of the son of the king. Jonathan is taking off these important items and giving them to David. It is as if Jonathan already knows that David will be the next king instead of himself.
    So David says- Jonathan treat me with loyal love, hesed love. We have made a covenant together before the Lord. But if I am guilty just kill me know, don’t drag me before your father.
    1 Samuel 20:9 ESV
    9 And Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! If I knew that it was determined by my father that harm should come to you, would I not tell you?”
    1 Samuel 20:10 ESV
    10 Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you roughly?”
    v. 10- David is worried who will come and tell him if Saul is angry and answers harshly. Why? Because David’s life is in the balance.
    What happens next?
    1 Samuel 20:11 ESV
    11 And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So they both went out into the field.
    David- Jonathan I am worried, I am concerned. I am trusting you with my life. Who is going to come to the field and tell me your father’s response? What is David really asking? Jonathan can I trust you?
    And what does Jonathan say? Let’s go out to the field! Can you feel the suspense rising?
    So David and Jonathan travel for who knows how long out to the field. I wonder what they talked about? Do you think they walked in silence? Can you imagine that atmosphere?
    What does Jonathan say?
    1 Samuel 20:12–13 ESV
    12 And Jonathan said to David, “The Lord, the God of Israel, be witness! When I have sounded out my father, about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if he is well disposed toward David, shall I not then send and disclose it to you? 13 But should it please my father to do you harm, the Lord do so to Jonathan and more also if I do not disclose it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. May the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father.
    1 Samuel 20:14–15 ESV
    14 If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the Lord, that I may not die; 15 and do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever, when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”
    V. 14- Jonathan in return is afraid that David will kill off his family line when God raises David to become king of Israel.
    1 Samuel 20:16 ESV
    16 And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord take vengeance on David’s enemies.”
    Jonathan makes another covenant with David “May the Lord take vengeance on David’s enemies.” Even if David’s enemy is Saul his father.
    1 Samuel 20:17 ESV
    17 And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
    And then David swears again by his love for Jonathan and Jonathan’s house- because David loved Jonathan as he loved his own soul.
    Then Jonathan finalizes the plan.
    1 Samuel 20:18–22 ESV
    18 Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. 19 On the third day go down quickly to the place where you hid yourself when the matter was in hand, and remain beside the stone heap. 20 And I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark. 21 And behold, I will send the boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,’ then you are to come, for, as the Lord lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger. 22 But if I say to the youth, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, for the Lord has sent you away.
    David and Jonathan are putting their lives into each other’s hands.
    Why was their friendship so strong/solid/sincere?
    1 Samuel 20:23 ESV
    23 And as for the matter of which you and I have spoken, behold, the Lord is between you and me forever.”
    V. 23- “The Lord is between you and me forever.”
    The First Book of Samuel c. Covenant between Jonathan’s House and David’s House (20:12-17)

    Genuine love, person to person, sealed by a covenant, such as there was between David and Jonathan, provides a most telling model of an unbreakable relationship

    Do you have someone like that you can trust? Where can you go to find a friendship that is bonded together by a covenant?
    By God’s grace, we have been brought to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Having been united to Christ by his Spirit through salvation and having been baptized upon our profession of faith, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, so we now solemnly and joyfully renew our covenant with each other, that God enabling us:
    This is what the church should look like!
    A family of believers, with genuine love bonding person to person together, sealed by a covenant, that provides unbreakable relationships.
    How helpful would that kind of relationship be in enduring suffering?
    How do we do that?
    Application: How can I pray for you? Being really honest with each other.
    How should we endure difficult suffering?

    4). In difficult suffering we need to reflect on our responses

    Our response to suffering reveals what is really going on in our heart.
    1 Samuel 20:24–25 ESV
    24 So David hid himself in the field. And when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. 25 The king sat on his seat, as at other times, on the seat by the wall. Jonathan sat opposite, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty.
    Honor/Shame culture!
    Where a guest sits at a meal:
    is randomly chosen. (GI)
    indicates their status or age. (SH)
    —Jayson Georges, The 3D Gospel
    “In shame cultures, people are more likely to choose right behavior on the basis of what society expects from them. It is not a matter of guilt, nor an inner voice of direction, but outer pressures and opinions that direct a person to behave a certain way.”
    “The Thai word for being shamed, for losing face, literally means “to tear someone’s face off so they appear ugly before their friends and community.” Likewise, the word among the Shona of Zimbabwe denotes, “to stomp your feet on my name” or “to wipe your feet on my name.”
    “In an honor/shame society, such as that of the Bible and much of the non-Western world today, the driving force is to not bring shame upon yourself, your family, your church, your village, your tribe or even your faith. The determining force is the expectations of your significant others (primarily your family). Their expectations don’t override morals or right/wrong; they actually are the ethical standards. In these cultures, you are shamed when you disappoint those whose expectations matter. “You did wrong”—not by breaking a law and having inner guilt but by failing to meet the expectations of your community.” —O'Brien Richards, Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes
    1 Samuel 2:8 ESV
    8 He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and on them he has set the world.
    1 Samuel 2:30 ESV
    30 Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ but now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor , and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
    1 Samuel 15:27–28 ESV
    27 As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. 28 And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.
    1 Samuel 15:30 ESV
    30 Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may bow before the Lord your God.”
    1 Samuel 20:26 ESV
    26 Yet Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to him. He is not clean; surely he is not clean.”
    1 Samuel 20:27–29 ESV
    27 But on the second day, the day after the new moon, David’s place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has not the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?” 28 Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem. 29 He said, ‘Let me go, for our clan holds a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away and see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king’s table.”
    David went to his family’s table instead of the king’s table. Honor/shame!
    1 Samuel 20:30 ESV
    30 Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness?
    Jonathan- you have brought shame upon your family- the same kind of shame that your mother’s nakedness would bring. How?
    You have chosen the son of Jesse. Notice Saul does not call him David. He calls him Son of Jesse. Why?
    Who is Jesse? He is a nobody.
    1 Samuel 18:18 “18 And David said to Saul, “Who am I, and who are my relatives, my father’s clan in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?””
    1 Samuel 18:23 “23 And Saul’s servants spoke those words in the ears of David. And David said, “Does it seem to you a little thing to become the king’s son-in-law, since I am a poor man and have no reputation?””
    David- “I have no face!” I have no status. Who am I?
    Saul picks up on this honor/shame idea- You have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame.
    1 Samuel 20:31 ESV
    31 For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Therefore send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.”
    Here is where the rubber meets the road. Why is Saul so irate? Why is he being controlled by his temper?
    Our response to suffering reveals what is really going on in our heart.
    “Sin is largely the false attempt to cover shame and fabricate honor. We manufacture a false status, often by shaming others or boasting in the superiority of our own group. Having lost our spiritual face, family, name, and status, our life is a perpetual effort to construct a counterfeit honor.” —Jayson Georges, The 3D Gospel
    King Saul is not willing to surrender his honor.
    “People must renounce games of social manipulation, status construction, and face management to instead trust fully in Jesus for new status.”—Jayson Georges, The 3D Gospel
    And because he is not willing to surrender his nor, neither will he repent of his sin and submit his heart to God’s plan. So the Lord must tear the kingdom away from Saul.
    How long does this process take? Saul reigned for 40 years!
    Did David suffer during those 40 years? Why? Because of his own sin? Or because King Saul was unwilling to lose face?
    Why did God wait so long to depose Saul and why did God choose to allow David to suffer throughout the process?
    Here is another important step in enduring difficult trials!

    5). In difficult suffering we need to reflect on God’s character

    Because God is longsuffering He sometimes allows suffering in our lives due to the sins of others.
    Saul sinned before the Lord. Because of that God tore the kingdom away from Saul. How long did that process take?
    Acts 13:21 ESV
    21 Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.
    Why did God take forty years to rip the kingdom away from Saul?
    In those forty years did David suffer? Was the suffering due to his own sin or his own guilt? Much of David’s suffering was due to Saul’s sin and Saul’s refusal to renounce his status of honor in the community and submit to God’s plan.
    Is that fair? Is God fair when he lets us suffer because of other people’s sin?
    Have you ever wrestled with that question?
    Why did God wait so long? Why did God give Saul forty years?
    Nehemiah 9:17 ESV
    17 They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.
    Psalm 86:15 ESV
    15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
    Romans 2:3–4 ESV
    3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
    Because God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, he gave Saul forty years to repent and turn back to Him.
    Sometimes God allows us to suffer because our lives become intertwined with the lives of others and their sin and their mess. And yes God could zap them then and there for their sin and remove the trial and pain and suffering from your life. But sometimes God shows abundant mercy and grace and he suffers long- why? to lead that dear sinner to repentance.
    And in the mean time you might have to endure.
    How? Remember how much longsuffering God showed you. Remember how God graciously and mercifully delayed his wrath in order to lead you to repentance. Aren’t you thankful? Does that help us to understand why He might choose to show the same longsuffering to someone else?
    I was meditating on this thought during one of my walks. And guess what God in his providence allowed me to pray over in my prayer list?
    Nahum 1:7 ESV
    7 The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.
    James 1:17 ESV
    17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
    Lord, am I willing to endure suffering that isn’t my fault, suffering that is due to the sin of others, because you may be using me as a vessel of your longsuffering? You may be using me and my suffering as an instrument of your mercy to lead another sinner to repentance? Can I do that?
    Illustration: My own salvation. My parents had to endure trials and suffering because of my sin. They suffered long so that God, because of the richness of his kindness and his forbearance and his patience, could lead me to repentance.
    What about you? Have you ever in your life realized your sinful stubbornness? Have you turned from your sin to God? Have you put your trust in Jesus alone to forgive you of your sin? And if you have are you willing to trust the Father of lights, our stronghold in the day of trouble, even if He allows you to suffer for something that isn’t your fault?
    One last thought from our text this morning.
    Here is another important step in enduring difficult trials!

    6). In difficult suffering we need strong loving relationships

    We need strong loving relationships with other believers.
    I am essentially repeated myself here. But this point bears repeating when you are going through trials.
    1 Samuel 20:32–34 ESV
    32 Then Jonathan answered Saul his father, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” 33 But Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put David to death. 34 And Jonathan rose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had disgraced him.
    1 Samuel 20:35–40 ESV
    35 In the morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and with him a little boy. 36 And he said to his boy, “Run and find the arrows that I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. 37 And when the boy came to the place of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?” 38 And Jonathan called after the boy, “Hurry! Be quick! Do not stay!” So Jonathan’s boy gathered up the arrows and came to his master. 39 But the boy knew nothing. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 40 And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go and carry them to the city.”
    1 Samuel 20:41 ESV
    41 And as soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most.
    What was the whole point of the subterfuge? Jonathan and David come up this elaborate signal so David could simply slip away undetected if things went bad.
    But, then David gets up from his hiding place and weeps with Jonathan. That’s the kind of friendship they had.
    1 Samuel 20:42 ESV
    42 Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.’ ” And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.
    Friends, are you going through a David-like trial right now?
    1 Samuel 20:1 ESV
    “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin?
    Have you found yourself repeating this in your head?
    How should we endure difficult suffering?
    1). In difficult suffering we need honest evaluation
    2). In difficult suffering we need transparent relationships
    3). In difficult suffering we need trustworthy friends
    4). In difficult trials we need to reflect on our responses
    5). In difficult trials we need to reflect on God’s character
    6). In difficult trials we need strong loving relationships
    My friend would you take refuge in your good God and in the resources He has given you for all endurance and patience with joy and thanksgiving?
      • 1 Samuel 20:1ESV

      • Colossians 1:11–12ESV

      • 1 Samuel 20:1ESV

      • Jeremiah 17:9ESV

      • 1 Samuel 20:8ESV

      • 1 Samuel 20:10ESV

      • 1 Samuel 20:11ESV

      • 1 Samuel 20:14–15ESV

      • 1 Samuel 20:16ESV

      • 1 Samuel 20:17ESV

      • 1 Samuel 20:23ESV

      • 1 Samuel 20:24–25ESV

      • 1 Samuel 2:8ESV

      • 1 Samuel 2:30ESV

      • 1 Samuel 15:27–28ESV

      • 1 Samuel 15:30ESV

      • 1 Samuel 20:26ESV

      • 1 Samuel 20:30ESV

      • 1 Samuel 20:31ESV

      • Acts 13:21ESV

      • Nehemiah 9:17ESV

      • Psalm 86:15ESV

      • Romans 2:3–4ESV

      • Nahum 1:7ESV

      • James 1:17ESV

      • 1 Samuel 20:41ESV

      • 1 Samuel 20:42ESV

      • 1 Samuel 20:1ESV

  • Mercies Anew