𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠 𝗨𝗣

• What is the best encouragement you’ve given or received? How did it affect you or the person you encouraged?

• Think of those who are closest to you. What makes them dependable and trustworthy?

• Has anyone gotten jealous of you? How did you respond to it?

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗

𝘈𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘢𝘶𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘑𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭. 𝟭 𝗦𝗔𝗠𝗨𝗘𝗟 𝟭𝟴:𝟭–𝟯

(Read also 𝟭 𝗦𝗔𝗠𝗨𝗘𝗟 𝟭𝟴:𝟰–𝟱.)

In success and in challenges, we can feel recharged or strengthened when we receive encouragement from others. In the Bible, we see this happen in the friendship between David and Jonathan. They considered themselves to be close friends and were loyal to one another. As we fulfill God’s call in our lives, it’s important to build good relationships so that we may receive counsel and wisdom from those who have gone ahead of us and also encouragement and strength from those who walk alongside us. Today, let’s look at the importance of helping others follow God and being with people who help us follow God, too.

𝟭. 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗼𝗱.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘑𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘵. 𝟭 𝗦𝗔𝗠𝗨𝗘𝗟 𝟭𝟴:𝟯–𝟰

After David defeated Goliath, Jonathan—the son of King Saul—saw something great in David. He gave his robe, armor, and weapons to David as a sign of great respect. When David used these, the Israelites recognized him as one acknowledged by a member of the royal family. Unknown to Jonathan, this act of friendship paved the way for David to fulfill his becoming king. Whether we know God’s call for them or not, our mindset should be to find people whom we can constantly encourage to live a life that honors God. We can help them grow in their journey of faith by giving our time, effort, or resources. Are there people you are helping in this season? How are you guiding them to be more like Christ?

𝟮. 𝗕𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘂𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗱’𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘢𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘚𝘢𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘳. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘢𝘶𝘭’𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴. 𝟭 𝗦𝗔𝗠𝗨𝗘𝗟 𝟭𝟴:𝟱

Even though Jonathan was the son of King Saul, his humility led him to become good friends with David. Rather than being jealous of David’s accomplishments as his father was, Jonathan helped David several times and even warned him of Saul’s threats towards him (1 Samuel 20). Their friendship was very close, even until Jonathan’s death (2 Samuel 1:17–27). In his lifetime, David also surrounded himself with good people in both the battlefield and leadership. As we obey God’s call for our lives, we need to surround ourselves with people who will build us up and point us to God. Who are the people who mentor you and walk with you? How do they help you live out God’s call for your life?

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

• Aside from David and Jonathan’s example, what do godly friendships look like? How should you view friendships based on today’s discussion?

• Are there people you open up to and allow to speak into your life to help you live for God? How may you build a healthy relationship with them?

• Are you helping others live a godly life? Who are the people you can connect with this week?

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥

• Thank God for the gift of friendship and for sending people who will challenge you to live for Him.

• Ask God to continue surrounding you with genuine friends who will help you fulfill God’s call. Pray that you would not resort to comparison, but become an encouragement and a blessing to those around you.

• Pray that God would use you to be a good friend to others. Ask God to protect your friendships so that you may point others to Him.