The reason I first fell in love with the story of David was because of his friendship with Jonathan. I think there is something so beautiful about true friendship. Surely, the friendship between Jonathan and David is true.
Let’s backtrack. Who is Jonathan? Jonathan is the prince. The son of King Saul. Yeah, that king. The one who wants to kill David.
So David’s bestie’s dad wants to kill him. And since David is married to King Saul’s daughter, that means that King Saul is also his father-in-law. Can you say family drama???
Jonathan and David became friends right after David killed Goliath. You know how there are some people you immediately click with? That’s how it was with these two. They were instantly best friends and even made a covenant to prove it, which in Bible times was a very serious thing!
And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. 1 Samuel 18:3-4
I find this part so interesting. The prince--the one who should be the future king--removes his princely garments and weapons and hands them to the one who will one day take the throne. Wow.
Jonathan is very unlike his father. He makes a covenant with David. He keeps it. Even when he realizes that David will be the next king instead of him. He doesn’t become jealous of David like Saul does, but rather supports David as the future King of Israel. Jonathan is a true friend and gives us an example to follow in our own friendships.
Jonathan stood up for David when the king tried to kill David. He fought David’s case against King Saul, trying to convince the king to let David be. King Saul threw his javelin at Jonathan. (1 Samuel 20:33) Jonathan believed David was worth fighting for. Worth dying for. (Don’t worry, Saul has bad aim and Jonathan was fine.)
We can learn so much about friendship from Jonathan, but one thing that stands out to me is his bravery.
Think of your friend. Maybe your best friend. I have three and I’m very protective of them. If someone hurts me, I’m like, “I’m tough. I can handle it.” But someone does my friend wrong and I’m like, “Excuse you! What are you doing to my beautiful cinnamon roll?!”
Honestly, feeling like that about your friend is a good thing. (To a point. Starting fights is no bueno.) It means that you care for your friend enough to stand up for them.
Just like Jonathan’s bestie David was attacked, your friend will be attacked too at some point. Probably not with a javelin, but very likely with words. Mean words, things that aren’t true, things that ARE true but should be left alone, things from the past, untrue lies. Sometimes these are lies that others are spreading, but sometimes (probably most times) these are thoughts inside your friend’s head.
Today I read a quote by Ney Bailey that says, “The only power that Satan has is in his lies and getting us to believe them.”
Wow. That hit me hard. Because I’ve been there. I’ve believed the lies about myself. “You’re worthless.” “God can’t use you because of your past.” “Nobody loves you.” “No one will ever love you.”
Do you know what helped me overcome those lies? My friends.
When I felt unloved, Rachel told me that I was surrounded by love.
When I felt insignificant, Julianne told me that I am more than enough.
When I felt worthless, Sis. Pam told me my worth was in Christ, not in myself.
When I felt like God couldn’t use me because of my past, Sarah told me that God was going to take me on an adventure beyond my wildest dreams.
I believed the things that my friends told me and found myself no longer believing the lies. My friends reminded me of truth.
The Bible says that truth will set us free. (John 8:32)
Truth has allowed me to overcome worthlessness. It’s taught me how to trust again. It’s shown me that I have purpose.
Speak truth over your friends. Speak truth over yourself. Watch how the lives around you change as you speak TRUTH and fight those nasty lies. You and your friends will no longer be susceptible to the devil’s only “power”.
Fight lies with truth. This is how we will overcome.
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