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Helping Your Friend Find Strength in God Part 4

Jonathan encouraged David and then let David go on and deal with life

I Samuel 23:15 While David was at Horesh in the wilderness of Ziph, he learned that Saul had come out to take his life. 16 And Saul's son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. 18 The two of them made a covenant before the Lord. The Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh.

When Jonathan went to visit David in the wilderness he didn’t stay with David forever. He stayed with him long enough . In this life we have to have those gas station experiences. Get a fill-up and then hit the road. Jonathan went home and David stayed at Horesh. Sometime you just have to stay in that wilderness of Ziph. Each person has his or her own Horesh.

David and Jonathan never met again in this life. Later David did fulfill his part of the covenant to treat Jonathan's descendants kindly. When my late husband Winston died my family flew in from across the country. My mother stayed with me for several weeks, but reluctatnly I had to let her go home too. I had to stay at my proverbial Horesh. By the time she left I was able to see that there might be hope that I could go on with life. I learned you can help your friend find strength in God by not a smothering presence, but just enough to let them know that you care.

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