Life Lesson: God is with us even in hard times.
When we think about David, we often remember when he bravely defeated the Philistine giant Goliath or ruled over Israel as king. But in between those two very good times was also a very long, hard time when David was on the run from King Saul, who was trying to kill him. It all began when David was a boy and the prophet Samuel anointed him as Israel's next king. After this David defeated Goliath and was asked to be one of King Saul's important helpers at the royal court in Gibeah. While David was there, he became good friends with Jonathan, King Saul's son. But soon Saul became jealous of David, because people were becoming very impressed with David's skills as a leader. Eventually, King Saul became so jealous that he even tried to kill David, so David had to flee from place to place for several years to stay safe. He even had to leave his parents in the care of the king of Moab so that they would be safe while he was on the run from Saul. David was on the run so long that eventually he hid out at every place shown on this map! A couple times Saul almost caught up with David, and the men of the town of Ziph even told Saul that David was hiding there. But God took care of David. During this hard time David wrote several songs about how he was feeling, like Psalm 34; Psalm 52; Psalm 54; Psalm 56; Psalm 57; Psalm 59; and Psalm 142. These songs talk about some of the hard things he faced, like tiredness, loneliness, and danger. But David learned to trust that God was always with him and would help him and give him strength. And halfway through this long, hard time, David's good friend Jonathan also came to see him and encourage him! Jonathan told him "Dont be afraid. My father will never find you! You are going to be the king of Israel, and I will be next to you." Then they promised each other again that they would always stay friends. It is good know that God is always with us, even during hard times. And if we know someone else who is having a hard time, we can be a good friend to them like Jonathan was to David.
Life Lesson: God is with us even in hard times.
When we think about David, we often remember when he bravely defeated the Philistine giant Goliath or ruled over Israel as king. But in between those two very good times was also a very long, hard time when David was on the run from King Saul, who was trying to kill him. It all began when David was a boy and the prophet Samuel anointed him as Israel's next king. After this David defeated Goliath and was asked to be one of King Saul's important helpers at the royal court in Gibeah. While David was there, he became good friends with Jonathan, King Saul's son. But soon Saul became jealous of David, because people were becoming very impressed with David's skills as a leader. Eventually, King Saul became so jealous that he even tried to kill David, so David had to flee from place to place for several years to stay safe. He even had to leave his parents in the care of the king of Moab so that they would be safe while he was on the run from Saul. David was on the run so long that eventually he hid out at every place shown on this map! A couple times Saul almost caught up with David, and the men of the town of Ziph even told Saul that David was hiding there. But God took care of David. During this hard time David wrote several songs about how he was feeling, like Psalm 34; Psalm 52; Psalm 54; Psalm 56; Psalm 57; Psalm 59; and Psalm 142. These songs talk about some of the hard things he faced, like tiredness, loneliness, and danger. But David learned to trust that God was always with him and would help him and give him strength. And halfway through this long, hard time, David's good friend Jonathan also came to see him and encourage him! Jonathan told him "Dont be afraid. My father will never find you! You are going to be the king of Israel, and I will be next to you." Then they promised each other again that they would always stay friends. It is good know that God is always with us, even during hard times. And if we know someone else who is having a hard time, we can be a good friend to them like Jonathan was to David.