"And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood. 16. And Jonathan Saul's son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. 17. And he said unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth. 18. And they two made a covenant before the LORD: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house” (1 Sam. 23:15-18).
The Lord never intended for any of us to be Lone Ranger Christians. No one person should ever take the place of God in our lives, but the Lord often uses others to strengthen and encouraged us in Him. David was a man after God's own heart, but even he needed the encouragement of others and so do we. "Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend" (Proverbs 27:17). Do you have relationships with others that sharpen you in the ways of the Lord rather than make you dull? David and Jonathan had more than a passing friendship. In 1 Samuel 18:3 we read, "Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul." David had a covenant relationship with Jonathan. In other words, he committed himself to Jonathan to be there for him and Jonathan committed himself to be there for David. To Jonathan, being there for David meant more than just giving him a pat on the back. Jonathan was there to “strengthen his hand in God”—to help him fulfill his God given purpose to be the next King of Israel. We not only need encouragement; we need to make ourselves accountable to others. We need to give others the permission to do whatever is necessary to help get us to where God wants us to be. In addition to having committed friends that help to sharpen us in the Lord, God has designed and ordained for the local church to be the greatest support group in our lives. The Apostle Paul wrote, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…” (Eph. 4:11-13). In order to reach our full potential and grow spiritually we must be more than just your average Sunday morning church attendee. We must be committed members of a local bible believing church where we can serve and allow ourselves to be accountable to others before God. Seek out a Jonathan in your life,(someone who will strengthen you in the Lord), and be a Jonathan in the lives of others. Thank God for the Jonathans in our lives.
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