Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
David stayed in the desert strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.
While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that Saul had come out to take his life. And Saul's son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. "Don't be afraid," he said. "My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this." The two of them made a covenant before the Lord. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh.
The Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, "Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon? Now, O king, come down whenever it pleases you to do so, and we will be responsible for handing him over to the king."
Saul replied, "The Lord bless you for your concern for me. Go and make further preparation. Find out where David usually goes and who has seen him there. They tell me he is very crafty. Find out about all the hiding places he uses and come back to me with definite information. Then I will go with you; if he is in the area, I will track him down among all the clans of Judah."
So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Desert of Maon, in the Arabah south of Jeshimon. Saul and his men began the search, and when David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed in the Desert of Maon. When Saul heard this, he went into the Desert of Maon in pursuit of David.
Saul was going along one side of the mountain, and David and his men were on the other side, hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his forces were closing in on David and his men to capture them, a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Come quickly! The Philistines are raiding the land."
Then Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. That is why they call this place Sela Hammahlekoth (rock of parting). And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.
1 Samuel 23:14-29
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Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Romans 12:1-2, 6-8
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Have you ever found yourself discouraged…feeling down and out…perhaps even feeling defeated?
Life can lead us that way sometimes, particularly when we are going through the midst of trial. Whether it is health-related, work-related, financially-related, or relationship-related, our trials at times can span large periods of time…possibly up to years at a time…an in the midst of so much time spent in hardship, it can be easy to wear down and lose the ability to persevere. Maybe you can relate because I know I can.
Well David was going through this kind of trial as we continue studying the scriptures of 1st Samuel, Chapter 23. Saul had been pursuing him relentlessly, causing David to always be on the move to stay one step ahead of him. What made matters even worse were the number of people willing to expose David to Saul, making David not only have to flee but be wary of who he could and couldn’t trust.
As this passage opens, we find David “at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph” where he once again learns that “Saul had come out to take his life”. Tired and weary from running, David was in need of encouragement and God sent him just that in the way of his good friend, Jonathan.
Have you ever had this happen to you as well? Just when you were at wits end over some situation, the Lord sent someone to you who served as an encourager…one who lifted you up, renewed your spirit and helped you to carry on. I know I have experienced this more times than I can count.
So David in his time of need has Jonathan come to the rescue, meeting him at Horesh where he helped David “find strength in God”. Listen to Jonathan’s words of comfort and hope:
"Don't be afraid…My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this."
In other words, Jonathan is telling David he has nothing to be fearful of for Saul would “not lay a hand” on him. Instead, David would end up taking over as king…supplanting Saul and bringing new leadership to Israel with Jonathan second. David was not going to die nor be defeated. Instead, it would be Saul who would lose…and Jonathan assures David that his father knows his own days are numbered. Imagine what a boost this must have been to David’s spirits.
Well, Jonathan would leave David in Horesh after providing his encouragement and making a new covenant between them with the Lord. And it wouldn’t be long before David would face yet another challenge…but this time, he was reinforced and prepared to deal with what would come. Ultimately, he knew he would have the victory.
The challenge came when the “Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah”, told him that David was in their territory and asked Saul to come so they could hand David over to him. As said earlier, David just couldn’t know who he could trust…but as we can see, no matter what man tried to do, they could never overcome the Lord’s presence and protection over His chosen leader.
We read where Saul sends the Ziphites away and asks them to return with specific information about David’s location so he could kill him. Almost comically, Saul exploits the Lord’s name and blessing to extend favor for the evil the Ziphites were about to do…all when he couldn’t be further from holy or pious. And almost equally humorous was Saul calling David crafty when it was he who was the schemer.
Back to the scriptures where we see the Ziphites return ahead of Saul and inform him that David and his men were in the Desert of Maon. Armed with the information, Saul advances to finally get his hands on David but in a scenario that could be nothing short of God-driven, Saul and his men were advancing “along one side of the mountain” while David and his men “were on the other side, hurrying to get away from Saul”.
Saul would have eventually caught up with David but just as he was pursuing, news came that changed his plan. For the Philistines had attacked and raided Saul’s territory causing Saul to end “his pursuit of David” and leave to “meet the Philistines”. David would escape harm, just as Jonathan had promised, and went up with his men to live in the “strongholds of En Gedi”…no doubt buoyed up even more in spirit after escaping harm again.
Through today’s scripture we see the critical importance of encouragement…and we see it on two fronts.
First, it’s important to receive encouragement in times of need and we should never shy from it when offered. Too often, we tend to shun others when we’re going through tough times. We like to internalize our issues and not bother others with our problems. We think we have enough strength to deal with matters on our own. And through all these things, we find ourselves bottomed out, depressed and despaired…because we lose hope, faith and power to stand against the things that would afflict us.
Friends, we need encouragement nearly as much as we need air to breathe during difficult circumstances. Issues in life can suck the very life from us if we allow them to. But it doesn’t need to be that way. We can…and need to…confide in someone we see as a friend and remain open to receive and accept the encouragement they can bring us. And what greater friend do we have than the Lord Himself…One who promised to never leave us nor forsake us…and the only One who can provide us the strength we need to persevere through tough times.
We need to realize as well that sometimes the Lord works through others to encourage. For David, that person was Jonathan. For you or I, it could be anyone else the Lord chooses. And this leads me to the second point on encouragement: we should all seek to be encouragers.
For the Lord is ready to use us in just that way if we stay open to His will for us. He has us in the midst of others each and every day…others who may be going through difficulties. So as we are around them, the Lord could use us to be an encouragement to them…giving us words to say or just blessing us with the gift of listening…for sometimes that’s all we need to do to encourage another…just listening to what they are going through and allowing them to purge matters that have been weighing them down. I know I have gained a great deal of relief and release at times just by getting frustrations off my chest…and the Lord has blessed me through the years with wonderful people who have been given the gift of listening. In turn, I have helped many people who just needed someone to confide in and talk things through.
In fact, that’s a large part of what ministry is all about and I feel so blessed to be able to be used by the Lord to encourage others each and every day. The good news is that the Lord is ready to use anyone likewise that remains open to His will and way.
Won’t you consider being a blessing of encouragement to another today? For there’s no shortage of people in need…and the Lord is always looking for more encouragers. We can never have too many. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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