Month: April 2025

The Kitchen Table Devotional

David Day 89

Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan to kill him, so he knew that his father was determined to kill David. ³⁴ He got up from the table in fierce anger and did not eat any food that second day of the New Moon, for he was grieved because of his father’s shameful behavior toward David.

 1 Samuel 20:33-34

Here are a couple of qualities if you’re looking for a little maturity in a friendship.  Jonathan asks the right questions, gets upset for the right reasons, and feels sad about the right situations.  It’s a maturity issue.  Maturity looks for the truth, loves justice, and laments failure.  Maturity happens as we become confident in God’s heart and hand.  Look for it!

The Kitchen Table Devotional

David Day 88

Then Saul became angry with Jonathan and shouted, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don’t I know that you are siding with Jesse’s son to your own shame and to the disgrace of your mother?

1 Samuel 20:30

Desperate people live in drama.  They live there!  Saul was desperate; he could feel the change that was in the air.  Jonathan was in the middle of this drama by his own volition.  Jonathan was in the middle but not caught; he chose to be there.  People who choose how they will live can choose where they won’t live..  A real friend will choose truth and love in the middle of hate and drama.  Jesus went there for you and me.  The question is, would you go there for Jesus?  Without losing control of his thoughts or emotions, Jonathan stood for truth in love.  Look for these qualities in learning to be a friend and choosing friends.  It’s difficult to be the friend of a man caught up in drama.

The Kitchen Table Devotional

David Day 87

Jonathan then answered Saul, “David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem

1 Samuel 20:28

Jonathan did what real friends do: he went to bat for his friend David when it mattered.  There was action to his faith and friendship.  He lied for David’s sake.  I don’t know if I want to support lying, and in the end, I don’t know that lying was the answer, but Jonathan did.  There are times when life is more important than lying (hiding Jews from Hitler and spies from the government of Jerico), but there are consequences to lying, and Jonathan could have lost his own life in this lie.  True friends weigh the values and costs involved in their decisions.  That’s the point: good friends talk about the real and serious issues in life and respond to each situation appropriately.  This kind of relationship is raw but rewarding.  Be this friend to find this friend.

The Kitchen Table Devotional

David Day 86

And as for the matter of which you and I have spoken, behold, the LORD is between you and me forever.”

1 Samuel 20:23

It’s the little things that are really big things that make a real friendship work.  Jonathan realizes this is probably the last time he will see David.  Before they go, Jonathan reminds David of their agreement.  We will watch out for each other and each other’s families.  Real friends are not afraid to address the real issues in life.  If you can’t talk about it, you probably can’t trust it.  No pain, no pressure, and no paranoia, just truth.  Many of us don’t realize how important a real friendship is because we’ve never had one where love allows you both to be real and right with each other.  Ask God for that kind of friendship. 

The Kitchen Table Devotional

David Day 85

And behold, I will send the boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,’ then you are to come, for, as the LORD lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger.

1 Samuel 20:21

Real friends put action to their words.  But we don’t need just real action, we need the right action.  Here’s where friendships get real and deep, when we handle problems together.  This isn’t just sympathy or empathy; this is problem solving and action.  This is when friends help each other by creatively planning on how to solve a problem.  This is going the extra step, helping each other to deal with an issue that threatens either one or both.  Real friends stick around for the conversation, not just to catch the concern.   The best friendships don’t walk away from the worry, but walk with each other through the work.

The Kitchen Table Devotional

David Day 84

So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the LORD call David’s enemies to account. ” ¹⁷ And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.

1 Samuel 20:16-17

Real friends face real foes.  Covenants are only as good as the characters involved in the covenant.  This doesn’t have much to do with position, possessions, or popularity; it has everything to do with the person.  Real people make for real friends.  Jonathan loved David as he loved himself.  Jonathan also loved his family and made sure to take care of both his friend and his family.  Everyone needs friends like David and Jonathan were to each other.  A real friend will go to the wall for you, and they’re not afraid to take you there too, bringing authenticity and accountability into the relationship.  Sounds scary, and it’s so perfect for us.

The Kitchen Table Devotional

David Day 83

But show me unfailing kindness like the LORD’s kindness as long as I live, so that I may not be killed, ¹⁵ and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family —not even when the LORD has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.”

1 Samuel 20:14-15

There are friends that will be your friends and then there are friends that will be friends of your family.  Hopefully, you will know and be one of those types of friends with others.  These types of friends share common love, concern, and purpose with each other.  These types of relationships are established on a covenant/commitment with each other and many families will never share this type of relationship.  These types of relationships make each person better, safer, and happier.  These people don’t have to live with each other, but they live for each other, and it’s powerful.

The Kitchen Table Devotional

David Day 82

But should it please my father to do you harm, the LORD do so to Jonathan and more also if I do not disclose it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety.

1 Samuel 20:13

There’s a difference between a friend and a familiar face.  A friend shares with you.  They share their heart and hands with you.  Relationships you can trust are never one-sided.  Jonathan not only shares his heart for David, but he also shares his hands.  Jonathan does what he can to help David.  One other thing about this relationship is that it’s truthful.  There’s honesty and harmony between Jonathan and David.  Friendships go bad when they become about one and not both.  You have to recognize when this is happening and be careful in trusting that other person when it happens.  Things happen, and things change.  Always be real about your relationships.

The Kitchen Table Devotional

David 81

If he says, ‘It is good,’ your servant will be safe; but if he is very angry, know that he has decided on evil. ⁸ Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the LORD with you. But if there is iniquity in me, put me to death yourself; for why then should you bring me to your father?”

1 Samuel 20:7-8

Friends, true friends, are a gift from God.  This world can be a dirty and dangerous place; people get bent out of shape and become captives to their broken hearts and lives.  God gives us friends to both prosper and protect us.  That’s why it’s so important to know who your friends are.  A true fill will help protect and prosper your calling in life.  However, a true friend will protect you from your foes on the inside and the outside.  David needed a friend who protected him from the for on the outside and the inside.  Thank God for friends like Jonathan.

The Kitchen Table Devotional

David Day 80

But David took an oath and said, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said to himself, ‘Jonathan must not know this or he will be grieved.’ Yet as surely as the LORD lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death.”
⁴ Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do for you.”

1 Samuel 20:3-4

Don’t bind yourself to emotional decisions.  It seems funny that we would be talking about this as believers, but the enemy’s favorite tool is our flesh.  We can’t afford to let our lives become captive to emotional decisions.  Emotions of feelings are God given and powerful for letting us know what we’re touching or what’s touching us, but they can’t be trusted in the final decision.  Johnathon was emotionally attached to his friend and his father.  That’s nice, but David’s future hung in the balance.  This decision had to be evidential, not emotional.  Destiny was at stake.  It usually is.