WATCH CHAPEL VIA LIVESTREAM AT 10 A.M. EACH WEEKDAY facebook.com/cedarville/live youtube.com/cedarvilleuniversity cedarville.edu/chapellive FRIENDSHIP AND HUMILITY: JONATHAN, DAVID, AND GOD The following is an excerpt from a February 20, 2024, chapel presentation by Jeremy Pierre ‘01. Listen to his full message at cedarville.edu/PierreFeb2024. Here’s our main idea: The key to lasting friendship is humility before God. Humility is trusting the Lord’s unique will for your own life and His own unique will for your friend’s life. This neutralizes both insecurity and jealousy. The main text we’re going to be launching from is 1 Samuel 18. This text is meant to emphasize a contrast between the way King Saul reacts to David versus the way his son Jonathan reacts to David. Now, from the first time we see Saul in this story, we see that he’s full of fear and insecurity because he does not want to listen to the Lord’s word ever. Saul did not trust God’s will for his life or for his leadership. Saul’s lack of trust in God shaped the way he responded to everything, including David. Now, the good news is he isn’t the only one in the story. My second point, by contrast, is that Jonathan trusted the Lord’s will, so he responded to David in love. Sure, he was a capable warrior and a strong leader, but what is most important about Jonathan in the text is that he sought the will of the Lord and he submitted to it. Do you see the difference? Jonathan trusted God’s will in his life, and that trust characterized his response to everything else, including David. What made him so courageous was his faith in the word of the Lord. Isn’t that kind of amazing, that courage comes from humility? Only the Bible can make sense out of that. We typically think of courage as coming from a strong sense of pride. That’s not where courage comes from. Courage comes from being absolutely convinced that God is who He says He is and that He will do what He has promised to do. Let’s apply this to our lives and our friendships. Here’s an application for you: Trusting the Lord’s will for your life frees you from insecurity about yourself, which allows you then to be a friend to others. Personal insecurity destroys friendships. Have you noticed this yet? Insecurity comes from insisting on your own vision of what you ought to be. But what I’m trying to point out to you is that if you live by these fears instead of by faith, you turn inward. God chose everything about you. It is God’s determination, and you can trust Him with that, because God’s choice is the best news you could ever hear. He chose you to belong to Him, to be loved by Him, and to set His unique affection on you that will never depart from you. That’s God’s determination. That’s way better than your determination. How do you apply this? In Jesus Christ, this humility to submit to God’s will is already yours. It’s sourced in Jesus. He did it on your behalf. He earned it for you. And now, He’ll distribute it to you whenever you want it. This is one of those prayers that you’re going to be praying again and again: “Lord, give me the humility to forget myself and trust You with who You made me to be, the opportunities You’ve put in my life, and the direction that You have for my future.” Jeremy Pierre ’01 is Dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism, and Ministry. September 4–5, 2024 Jimmy Scroggins Professor of Christian Ministry at Southern Seminary Louisville, Kentucky September 9–10, 2024 Creation Conference Answers in Genesis September 17–18, 2024 J.D. Greear Pastor at The Summit Church Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina 31
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