1 Samuel 23

Strengthen One Another

Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, got up and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God. ~ 1 Samuel 23:16

Have you ever had one of those days when you knew what God had promised, but you just needed someone to remind you? Not someone to solve your problems or tell you what you should have done differently. Just someone to come alongside you and say, “Don’t give up. God hasn’t forgotten you.” Those kinds of people are rare, and they are priceless.

In today’s scripture reading, David was once again running for his life. Even after rescuing the city of Keilah, Saul continued pursuing him. David was hiding in the wilderness, uncertain about what tomorrow would bring. Then something beautiful happened. Jonathan found David, not to complain, not to gossip, and not to offer his own opinion. He came for one purpose, to strengthen David’s hand in God.

I love that phrase. Jonathan didn’t simply encourage David with positive thinking. He reminded him of God’s promises. He pointed David back to the One who had already called him to be king.

As God’s people today, we all need people like Jonathan in our lives. Even more, God wants us to become that kind of person for someone else.

Below are three truths from this chapter that can strengthen our own walk with the Lord.

1. God Often Encourages Us Through People

Sometimes we pray for God to encourage us, and He sends a friend. Jonathan was God’s answer to David’s discouragement. God still works that way today.

Pay attention to the people God places in your path. If a friend comes to mind, don’t assume it’s just a random thought. Send the text. Make the phone call. Write the note. Invite them to lunch. Your simple act of encouragement may be exactly what they needed that day. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is simply show up.

2. Point People to God, Not Yourself

Jonathan didn’t tell David how strong David was. He reminded David how faithful God was. There’s a big difference. Our encouragement should build people’s confidence in God, not in self.

When someone shares a struggle with you, don’t rush to fix everything. Instead, remind them of God’s faithfulness. Share a Scripture. Pray with them. Help them remember what God has already done in their life. People don’t always need your opinions. They need God’s promises.

3. Don’t Let Opposition Stop Your Assignment

David was hiding, but he wasn’t forgotten. God’s calling on his life had not changed simply because his circumstances had. Neither has yours.

Don’t allow difficult seasons to convince you that God’s plan has changed. Perhaps you’ve experienced rejection, disappointment, delays, or unexpected setbacks. Instead of assuming you’ve missed God’s will, continue doing the last thing He asked you to do while trusting Him for the next step. Just because the road gets rough doesn’t mean you’ve made a wrong turn.

One of the things I appreciate most about Jonathan is that he didn’t make David’s situation about himself. He wasn’t jealous of David’s future, even though David would one day become king instead of him. Jonathan genuinely wanted to see God’s plan fulfilled in David’s life. That kind of humility is rare. It reminds me to ask myself whether I’m the kind of friend who points people toward God or toward my own advice. We all need friends who strengthen our faith, but we should also strive to become that kind of friend that has the others best interest in mind.

Today I want to encourage you to look for opportunities to strengthen someone’s hand in God. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you who needs encouragement today. You don’t have to preach a sermon or have all the answers. Sometimes one Scripture, one prayer, one phone call, or one conversation is enough to remind someone that God is still faithful. At the same time, don’t be afraid to receive encouragement from others when you need it. God often ministers to His children through His children. As you continue to point others toward Him, you’ll discover that encouragement has a wonderful way of strengthening both the one who gives it and the one who receives it.

Today’s Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 23

1 Then they told David, saying, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they are robbing the threshing floors.”

2 Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?”

And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.”

3 But David’s men said to him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” 

4 Then David inquired of the Lord once again.

And the Lord answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah. For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.” 

5 And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines, struck them with a mighty blow, and took away their livestock. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

6 Now it happened, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he went down with an ephod in his hand.

7 And Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah. So Saul said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.” 

8 Then Saul called all the people together for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

9 When David knew that Saul plotted evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” 

10 Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake. 

11 Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.”

And the Lord said, “He will come down.”

12 Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?”

And the Lord said, “They will deliver you.”

13 So David and his men, about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah and went wherever they could go. Then it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah; so he halted the expedition.

14 And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand. 

15 So David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in a forest. 

16 Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God. 

17 And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that.” 

18 So the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house.

19 Then the Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in strongholds in the woods, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? 

20 Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand.”

21 And Saul said, “Blessed are you of the Lord, for you have compassion on me. 

22 Please go and find out for sure, and see the place where his hideout is, and who has seen him there. For I am told he is very crafty. 

23 See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides; and come back to me with certainty, and I will go with you. And it shall be, if he is in the land, that I will search for him throughout all the clans of Judah.”

24 So they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. But David and his men were in the Wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon. 

25 When Saul and his men went to seek him, they told David. Therefore he went down to the rock, and stayed in the Wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued David in the Wilderness of Maon. 

26 Then Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. So David made haste to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men were encircling David and his men to take them.

27 But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land!” 

28 Therefore Saul returned from pursuing David, and went against the Philistines; so they called that place the Rock of Escape. 

29 Then David went up from there and dwelt in strongholds at En Gedi.

Journal:

• Who has strengthened my hand in God during a difficult season?
• Is there someone the Lord has been prompting me to encourage?
• When people come to me with struggles, do I point them toward God’s promises or only offer my own opinions?
• How has God remained faithful to me during seasons of uncertainty?
• What is one practical way I can strengthen someone in the Lord this week?