Who Strengthens Your Hand in the Lord?
“Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God.”
— 1 Samuel 23:16 (NKJV)
As I was reading through 1 Samuel 23, something stood out to me. David was in a difficult place. King Saul was pursuing him, seeking to take his life. David was hiding in the wilderness, facing uncertainty, danger, and exhaustion.
But then something beautiful happened.
His dear friend Jonathan came to him. Not with an army. Not with a plan to defeat Saul. Not with a solution to all his problems.
Jonathan came to strengthen David’s hand in the Lord.
Think about that for a moment.
Jonathan didn’t come to remind David how strong David was. He came to remind David how faithful God was.
How many of us have that kind of friend?
A brother or sister in Christ who, when life gets difficult, comes alongside us and reminds us where our strength truly comes from?
Because when trouble comes, what do we so often do?
We try to fix things ourselves. We fight battles in our own strength. We become so focused on the problem in front of us that we unintentionally take our eyes off the Lord.
And sometimes, we don’t even realize we’re doing it.
That’s why we need godly friendships.
We need brothers and sisters who won’t just tell us what we want to hear, but will remind us of what God has promised. Someone who will pray with us, speak truth into our circumstances, and lovingly redirect our eyes toward Christ.
There’s an old saying that a true friend doubles our joy and divides our grief.
But I believe a godly friend does something even greater.
A godly friend strengthens our faith when our own strength begins to fail.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 reminds us:
“Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.” (NKJV)
Jonathan couldn’t remove David’s troubles, but he could remind David that God had not abandoned him.
And sometimes that’s exactly what we need.
Not someone to fight our battles for us, but someone to remind us that the battle belongs to the Lord.
So today, I want you to ask yourself two questions:
Do you have a Jonathan in your life? Someone who will come alongside you in your darkest moments and strengthen your hand in the Lord?
And perhaps more importantly, are you being a Jonathan to someone else?
If you don’t have that kind of brother or sister in Christ, seek one out. Build those relationships. Surround yourself with people who will draw you closer to Jesus, not further away.
And don’t wait until someone asks for help to be that friend.
Sometimes the greatest ministry we can offer is simply showing up and reminding someone that God is still with them.
We were never meant to walk this journey of faith alone.
— Rev. Carlos Figueroa
TheFreeBible.org
