Preparation by Trial

good and kind prayer. If you got your Bibles, let's turn to 1st Samuel chapter 20. We're going to pick back up with 1st Samuel chapter 20. We left off a couple of weeks ago before Christmas with 1st Samuel 19. And if y'all remember the story, David's rise a star and Saul has set out to kill him. This is our first sermon in the year 2026. And I hope it's a I hope it's a sermon that you find applicable to you because sometimes like David, we wake up in the new year, right? The new year, it's always a time of transition. It's a time of opportunities. Uh but we always carry baggage from the old year. And let's look at David's baggage. Saul's trying to kill him. Number one, David has a calling on his life. And uh it ain't working out the way that we would normally want to work it out. And that's why I love this story. I love 1 Samuel and I'm excited about this message. I hope it's a blessing to you because there are moments in life when everything looks the same on the outside but nothing feels the same on the inside. The job is still there. The relationship is still intact. The routine hasn't changed. But something deep inside of you, something deep within you knows that this season of life is ending. You didn't plan it. You didn't cause it. You didn't vote for it. And that's where David is right now in 1st Samuel chapter 20. David has done everything right, but everything's falling apart. David hasn't sinned his way into trouble. David hasn't manipulated his way forward. David hasn't um been given what God has promised him yet. As a matter of fact, David, David's on the run. And that's important because many times as believers, we secretly have this thought that man, if if I stay faithful, life will stay predictable. But it never does. And scripture teaches us something different that God allows disruptions in the life not to punish you but to prepare you. And we instinctively I think sometimes connect difficulty with guilt or or judgment. And a lot of times we just by default assume that trouble means corruption. I can I'm that trouble means correction. that we assume hardship means discipline. We assume that disruption means that we miss something. But David hasn't missed anything. And I think that's going to become clear. And sometimes God moves you not because you're wrong, but because you're ready. And ready doesn't mean comfortable. Ready seldom means confident. Ready absolutely does not mean certain. It means that God has decided it's time for the season to change. Even if your emotions haven't caught up with you yet. So, let's jump right on in. We'll start out with verse one. Then David fled Naoth into Rama. Remember, he's on the run. Remember, he had tried to trick David to, "Hey, David, kill me 100 Philistines to get their foreskins." It's like freak show. But um so David's on the run knowing that Saul's out to get him. says, "And then David fled from Naoth and Rama and came and said before Jonathan, what have I done?" Now, there's two things I think you ought to underline here. That's just my way of thinking. Before Jonathan, and what have I done? So, he came before Jonathan and said, "What have I done? What is my iniquity? What is my sin before thy father that he seeketh my life?" So let's stop real quick and marinade because David comes to Jonathan with a question that echoes in the human heart. What have I done? Because that tell that that that question tells us something that David assumes like many of us do so often that circumstances that he's facing are tied to some wrongdoing that he did. What have I done? But not all hardship is corrective. Sometimes hardship is transitional because God's not allowing and God's not reacting to David's failure. God is actually going to use this to advance David into a future that he promised him. And and here's the tension of the chapter. David knows that Saul is trying to kill him, but Jonathan, Saul's son and David's closest friend, doesn't know it yet. There's some tension there. Jonathan doesn't believe it yet. And that's real life. Because sometimes you can see clearly what others can't. Sometimes the people that you trust most are the slowest to accept the truth. But the truth is where we can find out where our security truly rest. So let's just sit here for a moment with David's question. What have I done? Now, that's not defiance. That that's honesty. It's it's it's a little bit of confusion. David knows what God has spoken over his life. You're going to be the next king of Israel, but he's not looking like a king right now. His circumstances seem to be completely out of step with that promise. David, by asking this question, is not rebelling against God. He's trying to understand why obedience has led him here. This is not fake spirituality. David does not say, "Well, praise the Lord anyway. You know, Saul's trying to kill me." It's all good. How you doing? Just right. No, you're not. The king's out to get you. Everybody's out to get you. And he doesn't say, "I'm too blessed to be stressed." He says, "What have I done?" That's not rebellion. It's honesty. Faith, listen to me, never means that you do not ask questions.

It means that you bring your questions to the right place. All right? Ask questions. Why do we do this? Why is our position on that? And I want you to notice, and this is really important because remember I said not only underline the question, but also circle or underline that he brought it before Jonathan. Notice where David takes his question. He takes it to his trusted friend because this choice matters because circumstances of uncertainty are rarely navigated alone. And so David does not go to Saul who's proven himself unfit to lead the kingdom. He goes to Jonathan. David is anointed but hunting. Hunted. He's he's chosen but hiding. and and when you are confused, you don't need more noise. You need someone who knows your heart. So he asked Jonathan, he asked Jonathan. And the reason you I'm kind of harping on this is we still got horoscopes in the newspaper. How many people, you know, still got psycho babble on TV? We still have talk shows on the radio. Be careful who you listen to. Be careful who you go to. David goes before Jonathan and he asks Jonathan, "What have I done? What is my iniquity?" And let's be honest, this is kind of a New Year's question, too. Because some of us, over the next couple of weeks, some of us are going to get the bills for December 2025. What have I done? How did I get here? What went wrong? What am I missing? And and some of us are entering this year 2026 like David enters this chapter. You did what you knew to do. You tried to honor God in everything and yet look at your life right now. Faith does not mean that you end one year with all the answers. It means that you carry your questions into the next year the right way. David doesn't spiral. David takes counsel. And man, for me, that's a word for January 2026. So before we rush into resolutions, before we set goals, before we promise God we'll do better next year, ask yourself, who am I walking into this next season with? Because David doesn't survive because of strategy. He survives because of a relationship. And he, this is Jonathan, said unto him, that's David. And Jonathan said unto David, God forbid, thou shalt not die. Behold, my father will do nothing, either great or small, but that he will show it to me. And why should my father hide this thing from me? It it is not so. So Jonathan, despite the fact that Saul had used David as target practice two times before, Jonathan is initially struggling to believe that things are as dangerous as David says they are. He wants to assume the best. And David responds with a line that is painfully honest. And it says in verse three, "And David swear moreover and said, "Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes." And he saith, let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved. But truly as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, here it is. There is but a step between me and death. Y'all, that sentence didn't come from panic. It came from awareness. It it it came from David not losing faith. It came from David recognizing reality. And scripture does not criticize him for calling it like it is. And as we step into the new year, this passage gives us permission to be truthful about where we are right now. Because faith does not require pretending everything is fine. It invites us to bring our questions into the light and let God meet us there. So here's the test. We pick up with verse four. Then said Jonathan unto David, whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee. And I I want you to notice that Jonathan here commits to David before he even knows the outcome. He is aligning himself with David's survival. And that matters because most of us certainly want certainty before commitment. But Jonathan didn't need certainty before commitment. Whatever your soul desires, I will do it for you. I because I'm aligning myself with David because I see something in you, David. And I I love this because as we step into the new year, God calls us to alignment before he gives us clarity so much. Before he reveals his will, he asks us to step into alignment with him. And and as we step into the year 2026, I'd like us to hear this clearly. You don't need to know everything that God is going to do to trust the one who is doing it. In case you're taking notes, let's say that again. You do not need to know everything that God is going to do in order to trust the one who's doing it. So David proposes a test involving the new moon feast. And it's not manipulation, it's a discernment. David knows that Jonathan having a hard time believing. So he says, "Hey, let's let's do a test." Verse five. And David said to Jonathan, "Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at me. But let me go that I might hide myself in the field until the third day at evening. And if thy father at all miss me, then say, David is earnestly asking leave of me, that he might go to Bethlehem, his city, for this is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. And if he say thus, it's well, thy servant shall have peace. But if he be wroth, then be sure that evil is determined by him. Now, what stands out to me here is that David doesn't rush towards a resolution. And that's a word for me personally because if I was football strategy, I'd be the run and shoot offense. I I got I am, man. I I mean like I'm the Jeb Stewart of of of of I got a friend at work, Mike. He is like I don't know if you've ever read Clausswitch on the war. Probably not. Okay. So, Clauswitch wrote this book. It's entitled on war. He's like amass all your troops. When you have all your troops and everything in place, then you march lock step. That is not my personality. My personality is dang the torpedoes full steam ahead charge. That's me. But I appreciate the fact that David doesn't have my personality here. He uh he he he decided not to rush towards resolution. What David does here is he gives space for the truth to come out. And I need that because sometimes faith looks a lot less like charging forward and more like paying attention. Sometimes faith looks like waiting for confirmation, not because God is unreliable. But because we are limited, Jonathan sees something bigger than his own personal advancement in all of this. Jonathan knows about David's calling. And he he's aligned with that. And it says verse eight, "Therefore, Jonathan, therefore, thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant." So Jonathan, you're going to deal kindly with me, David. that for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the Lord with thee. Notwithstanding if there be any iniquity, slay me thyself. For why would should thou bring me to thy father? Jonathan said, Or be it from thee? For if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would I not tell thee? Jonathan loves David. Jonathan protects David. Jonathan believes in David, but Jonathan does not fully see what David sees, at least not yet. And that's real life. And and it's important because in transitions,

even healthy relationships experience tension, not because the love is gone, but because perspectives differ. David sees the danger clearly. Jonathan struggles to accept that his father has crossed the line. I get it. It's his father. Nobody wants to believe bad about your own dad. But his dad was wrong and and David saw it. And so God allows the tension here not to divide them, but to teach David something vital. Your future cannot rest on even the best of human support.

Got it.

I don't care if you're the president of the Okay, not not a good example. I don't care if you were Billy Graham. You still put your pants legs on one leg at a time. You still have to buy to uh toilet paper and you still have to brush your teeth. We are all human and even the best human support is not as reliable as God. So D Jonathan had all these good intentions but the relationship between Jonathan and David has this tension not because the love was gone but because perspective differs. David sees danger. Jonathan struggles to accept it. And God allows attention not to divide them but to teach David that your future cannot rest on even the best human support. Even the best human support can let you down. And God often uses relationships not as as as as bridges, I'm sorry, not as anchors, but as bridges. They they they help you cross over, but they cannot replace human relationships cannot replace trust in him. And some relationships will walk with you a lifetime. Others will walk with you long enough just to get you through the doorway, but that doesn't diminish their value. Doesn't negate their purpose. And David asked the honest question here. Verse 10. Then said David to Jonathan, who shall tell me, "Or what did thy father answer thee roughly?" So David is acknowledging his own vulnerability here. And he he cannot protect himself from Saul. He Saul's aim's got to get better sometime. He cannot read Saul's heart on his own. And Jonathan said unto David, verse 11, "Come and let us go out into the field." And they went out, both of them, into the field. And Jonathan said to David, "Oh Lord God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about tomorrow any time or the third day, and behold, if there be any good towards David, and then I I then send not unto thee, and show it thee." The Lord do so, and much more to Jonathan. But if it pleas to do the evil, then I will show it thee and and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace, and the Lord be with thee, and as he hath been with my father. So Jonathan responds by invoking in the name of the Lord. And it's not a slogan here, but kind of as a grounding reality. He recognizes what is unfolding is really bigger than any personal loyalty or family dynamics. God is at work. even if the path forward is painful. And Jonathan's words here remind us

divine purpose doesn't always eliminate human risk even in the path forward is is painful. It sometimes divine purpose doesn't eliminate the human risk. It what it does do is it sustains us within it. So Jonathan's like, "Okay, I know this is troubling. I know you think it's troubling. I'm going to acknowledge that. Let me take it on out here. And look, if if dad says he's going to dig you in, he's going to hurt you, I'll let you know. If he doesn't say anything like that, I'm going to let you know. I promise you that. I'm going to let you know, but we'll take the risk out of it. We'll we'll give you a safe space to to develop, David. So, through verses 18 through 29, let me just kind of summarize it for you because here was what's going on. Jonathan tells David to hide during the new moon feast to see how Saul's going to react to David's absence. David says, "You know, I'm always at that feast, but I'm not going to be there this time. And if your daddy asks, tell him that I've gone to Bethlehem to to make a to make a sacrifice." Jonathan's like, "Yeah, I'm good with that, and I'll let you know." So, we'll see how Saul reacts. Jonathan explains the signal. He's going to use some arrows and he's going to just shoot them out the window. And if they fall short of where David is, and that means David, come on home. But if they go further than where David is, that's a sign that Saul's intended to slay you. You need to go away. So that's the that's the plan. And the feast begins. Saul notices that David's seat is empty, but he doesn't really think anything at first. He assumes that David is ritually unclean. Perhaps while he was hunting, he touched a dead animal. He has to go through the purification rice. But on the second day, on the second day, he notices and he asked Jonathan about it. And Jonathan repeats the same words that David told him. Well, you know, Daddy, he wanted to go to Bethlehem to make the yearly sacrifice for his family, which is why he has not come to the king's table. Now, the test unfolds and David is missing. Verse 27, this is what Saul says. He says, "Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meet?" Jonathan gives the explanation. And here's Saul's response and it reveals everything. It's picked up in verse 30. And then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan. And he said unto him, here's something. He says unto him, "Thou son of perverse, rebellious woman." Now he's insulting his mama. Do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion and into the confusion of thy mother's nakedness? For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die. So David's absence starts the transition. And I want you to notice because there's a little bit of symbolism going on here. David was absent from the king's table. That's the old way of doing things because you know why? There's a new king coming. That table that table's going away because there's there's a new king coming. And then when Saul figures out David's gone and I'm not going to have my chance to take him out, he gets all mad at Jonathan and starts insulting Jonathan's mother. You know, the woman that gave birth to you. You're both idiots. And so the transition has started and Saul reacts with rage. And church, some of the tension that you feel stepping into this new year is not because you are failing. It's because something old no longer fits. And maybe God is removing you right now. Maybe there's some of you that God is removing you from tables that you used to sit at. And that's okay. not as punishment but as preparation. And like Saul, not everyone is going to celebrate the shift. And it says in verse 32, "And Jonathan answered Saul his father and said unto him, wherefore shall he be slain? What hath he done?" And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him, whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David. to quote Sharon Sprag. You think

so? Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger and did eat no meat the second day of the month. For he was grieved for David because his father had done him shame. So again, Saul's not angry because David is wrong. He's angry because David threatens his control. And control always lashes out when it realizes that it's losing power. So Saul throws a spear at his own son. And here's the truth. Take this to the bank. When when someone refuses God's authority,

they will attack anybody who aligns with it, even family. When you have somebody who is dead set to refuse God's authority, watch out because they'll attack anybody on it. And here's the truth here. Jonathan knows that there's no reconciliation coming. So verse 35, remember the promise that he's going to shoot some arrows. Let's look at the arrows in the field. And it came to pass, verse 35. And it came to pass in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David and the little lad with him. And he said unto the lad, "Run and find out now the arrows which I shoot." And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. And let me just say this for the young kids. If you're ever going to shoot an arrow and have a young kid get it, shoot the arrow first. This is not safe. Okay? And and when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, "Is not the arrow beyond thee?" And Jonathan cried after the lad, "Make speed. Hey, stay not." And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows and came to his master. And the the lad knew not anything. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter. So the message has been sent. The arrows The arrows are simple but decisive. David waits hidden. Jonathan steps into the open and clarity comes not through explanation but through confirmation. And I want you to notice in this passage here that God does not tell David how long the wilderness will last. He just tells him to go. God does not explain how the throne will come. God does not reveal the full path. He simply confirms it's time to move, David. And that's often how God will work in our lives. That's often how God works in the transitions. He gives directions, not a blueprint. Jonah, go to Nineveh. He gives peace, not a calendar. Jesus in John 14 27, my peace I give you. Where's the calendar? He gives assurance not answers. John 14:27 at the last passage. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. So Jesus and the Lord will give direction. They give peace. They give they give assurance. No blueprints, no calendars, no answers. Because answers, if we're given answers, we are such frail people. If we get answers, then our confidence is going to be in the plan. But assurance keeps us dependent on him. Verse 40. And Jonathan gave his artillery unto the lad. So he took his arrows off his back and gave it to the lad and said unto him, go carry them to the city. And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of the place towards the south and fell on his face to the ground and bowed himself three times. And they kissed one another and wept one with another till David exceeded. And Jonathan said, "David, go in peace, for as much as we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord be between me and thee, between my seed and thy seed forever." David arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city. So here we are. David and Jonathan are weeping. Not because the friendship failed, but because it mattered.

Sometimes goodbyes hurt, because they're good. Transitions often require letting go of what was right for a season, even when nothing was wrong. And and you can love something deeply and still be called to leave it. You can honor a season and a time of life without staying in it. You can grieve a transition and still trust God in it. Tears do not cancel faith. They they often accompany it. And God does not rush them out of this moment because sometimes faith looks like tears before it looks like triumph. And Jonathan blesses David. He says, "The Lord be between me and thee." That that's trust. That's trust that God is going to finish what he started. David escapes. He runs off, but he doesn't escape into comfort. David escapes into uncertainty. He escapes into isolation. He escapes into a season that we will see in coming chapters feels empty. Yet God is preparing him and preserving him. And God doesn't protect David by keeping him where he is. He protects him by moving him out. And that's uncomfortable for us because a lot of us will equate safety with familiarity. But scripture repeatedly teaches us that true safety, not familiarity with our places, our things, and the people we know. But it's when we live life with him. Because even life with him in a prison is is the safest of all places. And God is is not removing David from the blessing. He's he's actually relocating him for it. And David leaves this chapter without any answers, without a throne, without a timeline, without a road map. But he leaves with something better, a promise that has not been revoked. So, as the year opens in 2026, I want to let y'all know that there's some promises for you. In first Peter chapter 2 verse9, this is this is how Peter refers to y'all, to us, to the children of God that outnumber the sands of the sea and the stars of the sky, a number so vast that no man can number it. That's straight out of the Bible, people. He says, "You are a chosen generation.

You are a royal priesthood. You are a holy nation." 1 Peter 2:9. You are a peculiar people. That word peculiar means that you are owned. Like my house is owned by me. Doesn't mean you're weird, although some of us are. But you are an owned people, a chosen people, a holy nation, that you should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of the darkness and in to his marvelous light. So all these great things are given to you for a purpose that you should show forth. I like the language there because there are times in my life when I haven't. There are times in your life when you haven't. By the end of this day, I might not be showing forth all that good stuff that God's put inside of me. I need to constantly rely on him. Even when all the circumstances around me seem opposed to my feelings, opposed to what I think my life ought to be like, I can still rely on the Lord with a promise that is never revoked. And like David, your future, his future was not dependent on your performance. So, some of us are living in 1st Samuel chapter 20 right now. We're not rebelling. We're not running from God. We're just navigating a season where heaven seems a little distant, where it feels quiet, where where the pressure feels loud. And I want to remind you something. If Jesus has already secured your future, and he has, then even the shadows of your life serve a purpose. David doesn't survive because he's clever. He survives because God is faithful. Some of you are in this in between place right now. This this place of transition. Not where you were and not where you're going. In this space, it it feels a little uncomfortable, but the in between spaces, the transition spaces, it's not empty time, it's formative time. David had Jonathan. Jesus did not. David fled to live. Jesus stayed to die. And because Jesus finished his work. And because he did, these moments right here, the transitions of life no longer threaten our identity. We don't have to enter the new year trying to earn approval. We don't have to face uncertainty alone. We don't have to carry fear like it's our responsibility. Your future is not fragile. It is secure. And God often does his deepest work here. When we're moving, but not yet arrived to where we're going, we we don't need clarity for the whole journey. We just need to trust him for the next step. So, let me close out by saying, church, as we cross into the new year, some of you may feel hidden. Some of you may feel behind, some of you may feel unsure, but hear this blessing clearly. The God who carried you from last year will not drop you in this one. Our future is not secured by perfect decisions, but by the finished work of Christ. We don't transition alone. we transition here with him. If you'd like to follow him as we do here at Camp Creek Church, we give you that chance as

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