Not every Battle is Fought with Giants

Good morning friends.

Today we're in 1 Samuel and God reminded me that not every battle is fought with giants.

Some battles are fought against heartbreak.

   David has already defeated Goliath. He's already proven himself faithful. He's already served Saul with honor. Yet here he is, hiding in a field, wondering why someone he loved wants him gone. I think many of us can relate to that more than we care to admit.

     Sometimes the deepest wounds don't come from enemies. They come from people we never expected to hurt us. People we loved. People we honored. People we thought were cheering us on.

     David asks Jonathan "What have I done?"

Some of us have asked that same question too many times to count.

What did I do?

Why did this relationship change?

Why am I being misunderstood?

Why does it feel like I'm paying a price for something I never did?

     But what really stood out to me this morning wasn't Saul. It was Jonathan. Jonathan saw God's hand on David's life and chose to celebrate it instead of compete with it. That is rare.

                    Insecure people compete.

                     Secure people celebrate.

   Jonathan knew David would one day sit on the throne, yet he loved him anyway. He supported him anyway. He protected him anyway. He chose covenant over competition.

And that's the kind of person I want to be. The kind that can celebrate what God is doing in someone else's life without feeling threatened by it. The kind that can cheer for another person's calling because I trust God with my own.

     Not everyone in your story will become Saul.

God will send Jonathans too. People who remind you you're not crazy. People who strengthen your hands when you're weary. People who encourage you when you're questioning everything. People who see God's hand on your life and aren't threatened by it.

And if you've ever had a Jonathan, thank God for them. Those friendships are gifts.

    The chapter ends with David and Jonathan weeping together because they know things are changing. And that's what makes this chapter so real. Sometimes following God's plan costs us relationships. Sometimes obedience leads us down roads we never wanted to travel. But even in the goodbye, God was still working.

Even in the heartbreak, God was still preparing David for what was ahead.

   So if you're walking through disappointment today... If you're grieving a relationship...If you're trying to understand a hurt you didn't see coming...

Remember that God was with David in the palace and God was also with David in the field. He with David in the goodbye too. And the same God who walks with us through the victories walks with us through the heartbreak too.

   Sometimes His greatest gifts come wrapped in the form of a faithful friend named Jonathan. 

Faith Anchors. Hope Moves. Chains Break.

Love Pastor Mandy 

Ark of Hope Ministry 

Daily reading 1 Samuel 20