SixThirty3 Student Ministry

A couple of students have commented recently about how they thought I should post my thoughts about my personal Bible study times again. So, here goes.

Currently I'm going through the book of 1 Samuel. This morning I read 1 Samuel 18:1-9. Here's what God said to me:

1. Live to please God only. There will be people in life who will love you and others who might despise you. David simply obeyed God and lived to exalt Him. In 1 Samuel 18, you have 2 people--Saul and Jonathan--who had different responses to David. Saul was jealous of David's success and the affection the people had for him and it led him to despise David. Jonathan, on the other hand, loved David. He even went so far as to enter into a covenant friendship with David.
   
   David could not control how people felt about him or responded to him...NEITHER CAN WE! We need to quit living to make others happy and simply live to please the One who has died to give us life! (2 Corinthians 5:15)
   
   
2. Celebrate others' successes. It would have been easy for Jonathan to be jealous of David's successes just as Saul was. Jonathan was "heir apparent" to the throne. Now, 1 Samuel 16 reveals that God had already chosen David to succeed Saul on throne but most of the Israelites didn't know that yet. In their minds Jonathan would become king once his father died. So how does the "heir apparent" treat the war hero? He loves him as he loved himself. Instead of being jealous of David's success--like his father was--Jonathan celebrated David's success. 
   
   The way we respond to the successes of others says a lot about us. If we are insecure in who we are then we will respond as Saul responded to David—in jealousy. If we are secure in who we are—or, better yet, WHOSE we are—then we will celebrate with others when they are blessed with success.
   
   
3. Be a friend like Jonathan. Jonathan loved David like he loved himself. He gave David his robe, military tunic, sword, bow, and belt as a part of the covenant friendship that he entered into. Jonathan didn’t just say he was a friend, his actions proved it.
   
   What kind of friend are you? Are you more talk than action? I pray that the world would be able to look at our friendships and see something different!