ODB: Friends In The Night
August 17, 2011
A true friend stands with us in times of trial.
READ: 1 Samuel 20:30-42
The soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. —1 Samuel 18:1
Do you have someone you could call in the middle of the night if you needed help? Bible teacher Ray Pritchard calls these people “2 a.m. friends.” If you have an emergency, this kind of friend would ask you two questions: “Where are you?” and “What do you need?”
Friends like that are crucial during difficult times. Jonathan was that type of friend for David. Jonathan’s father, King Saul—who was filled with envy at David’s popularity and God’s blessing on him—tried to kill him (1 Sam. 19:9-10). David escaped and asked his friend for help (ch. 20). While David hid in the field, Jonathan sat at dinner with his father and quickly realized that Saul did indeed intend to kill David (vv.24-34).
Because of their deep friendship, Jonathan “was grieved for David” (v.34). He warned him of his father’s plan and told him he should leave (vv.41-42). David recognized what a good friend he had in Jonathan. The Bible says they wept together, “but David more so” (v.41). Their souls were “knit” together.
Do you have loving Christian friends you can count on in a crisis? Are you someone your friends would call a “2 a.m. friend”?
— Anne Cetas
Source: Our Daily Bread
Tweet This
Share on Facebook
Digg This
Save to delicious
Stumble it
RSS FeedRelated
ODJ: street kid sabbatical
December 15, 2009 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself (v.3). READ: Galatians 6:1-10 I have a soft spot for Uganda’s street kids and have tried to help many of them enter church-based programs that provide food, housing, school fees, and quality mentors. Often, such efforts are rewarding. [...]
ODJ: we’ve got answers
January 4, 2011 True wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are His (12:13). READ: Job 11:1-20 While in college, I volunteered at a center that provided emergency housing assistance. One winter day, a distraught woman called to complain about her negligent landlord. She couldn’t stay in her rental home because of severe [...]
ODJ: Time In A Bottle
May 22, 2012 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone (v.4). READ: John 1:1-5 Last year, Daniil Korotkikh, a 13 year old Russian boy, was beachcombing on the beach when he stumbled upon an old bottle poking out of the sand. He picked it up, uncorked [...]
ODJ: Loaded Questions
April 3, 2012 Stop and think! Do the innocent die? When have the upright been destroyed? (v.7). READ: Job 4:1-11 If making your guest squirm uncomfortably is the measure of success, then the TV journalist performed magnificently. Referring to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the reporter asserted to a religious leader: “Either God [...]
Christian Courses
Day Of Discovery
Discover The Word
Discovery Series
Help For My Life
My Utmost For His Highest
Our Daily Bread
Our Daily Journey
RBC Ministries
WarungSateKaMu
Manasociety
雅米
Greater love has has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. john 15:13