To Encourage You

1 Samuel 19:1-2 “And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted much in David. And Jonathan told David, ‘Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself.’”

1 Samuel 19:11 “Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, ‘If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.’”

Sometimes a very small word can make a very big difference in a matter.  In the verses above it’s the little word “but.”  In these Scriptures we have recorded the intentions of the very wicked King Saul regarding David.  Because Saul was jealous of this one who would become Israel’s next king, he continually sought to kill him.  However, because of certain others in David’s life, Saul’s plots were foiled once and again.  One of these others was Jonathan, Saul’s own son.  Although Saul hated David, Jonathan loved him. And although Saul’s every effort was made to kill David, Jonathan’s objective was to save David’s life.  Then there was Michal, Saul’s daughter and David’s wife.  Michal, like Jonathan, loved David.  And if not for her actions, Saul may have been successful in putting David to death. 

So, is there anything of relevance to us in this day and age that can be gleaned from these accounts?  Well, we should be aware that although Saul is now dead and gone, there have always been others who have come along in his place who want to bring harm to the people around them, including people we may know and love.  But behind all of these efforts is one master murderer who rules them all, namely Satan, whose every goal is to “steal (from), kill, and destroy” absolutely everyone in his path (John 10:10).  That includes all of the people you may know and love.  But in all of this, just as in David’s case, there are people God has sovereignly placed in positions to disrupt his schemes. In David’s case it was Jonathan and Michal.  Are you aware that in the case of those you love, that disruptive force against their greatest enemy might very well be you?  You see, just as David would likely have been put to death physically but for the actions and words of Jonathan and Michal, there are those in your life and mine that may be headed for a death spiritually, but for whom your intervention may be instrumental in giving them life.  Do you realize that Satan’s goal is to destroy everyone you love?  But, if you are a Christian, do you likewise realize that God has sovereignly placed you in their lives to be an instrument that He can use to save them. However, as in the case of Jonathan and Michal, you and I must act. 

So, how do we do this?  For one, we can pray.  We can throw obstacles in the path of the destroyer as we make intercession for our loved ones before our God.  And we can speak.  Just as both Jonathan and Michal warned David of Saul’s schemes against him, so we should be warning our loved ones of Satan’s schemes against them, for “we are not ignorant of his schemes” (2 Corinthians 2:11). And just as both Jonathan and Michal told David of a way to escape Saul, we can tell our loved ones of the way of escape from Satan’s murderous goals.  That way of escape is the gospel. It’s the message that gives eternal life.  It’s the eternal way of escape from our enemy. 

So, do you realize this?  Are you acting upon this truth?  As in the life of David, where it was but for Jonathan and but for Michal, he may have died, will you be the one who will act to preserve someone else’s life? Will you be the one who, but for your actions, the enemy might have taken their lives?

May God help us who are aware of Satan’s schemes to act to warn and advise the people in our lives of the way to escape eternal death and the way to eternal life, for surely, it is in our power to do this.