Faithbase

Thriving, week one, day four. Start with prayer. Dear God, please help me to hear you and understand your message for me, amen. The beans, or the background. Saul was crowned as the first king of Israel. At first, as a man after God's heart, he was successful. However, as time goes on and he slips further and further away from God, God decides to raise up a new king, King David. This is a bit of a twisted and long tale, however, God doesn't strike Saul dead and immediately replace him with David. God removes the throne and the dynasty away from Saul's family and gives it to David and his future descendants. But at first, he has David grow as a warrior under King Saul. Saul wasn't exactly pleased by this, especially when his son Jonathan and David become best friends. Understandably, Saul couldn't fathom how Jonathan, the son who is now losing the throne himself, would ever desire friendship with David, the one stealing it. However, against all odds, the two have a beautiful friendship that each vow to uphold for their entire lives and beyond. 1 Samuel chapter 20, verse 42, Jonathan said to David, Go in peace. The two of us have vowed friendship in God's name, saying, God will be the bond between me and you and between my children and your children forever. The fill. What's the point? Friendships are a beautiful blessing from God. Not only does God bless us with family members, but he also gives us friends. Because Jonathan listened to God and was a faithful friend to David, putting all selfish desires and ambition aside, God was able to accomplish great things for the Israelite people, saving them from enemies and getting them to a time of peace and prosperity. But then, that's not all. God was able to bless David as king, giving him a line of descendants which would eventually lead to Jesus. Jonathan and David's friendship played a vital role in God's plan for history. This beautiful example shows us how God is capable of miracles, using us as the hands and feet that bring them about. The steam. What does this mean and how can I apply it to my life today? When we have our ears at attention to God's little nudges, we can become his hands and feet at work, making miracles happen as if they were ordinary little moments. It could be something as simple as letting someone cut in front of you in line or opening a door. It could be bigger, like offering up your time, money, or other resources to help someone in need. As you walk around, going about your day, passing people in traffic, at work, at the store, at your kid's school or ball practice, ask yourself, I wonder what they prayed about this morning? Remember, all people have things on their plate, some bigger or harder to deal with than others at different seasons, but we're all walking around with stuff going on. The opportunities to be a blessing abound. Start by simply asking someone how they're doing and then really taking the time to listen to the answer. Who is he calling you to help today? Who do you feel led to reach out to? You never know the blessing he has waiting for you or how he'll use you to be a blessing in someone else's life.