Young People’s Blog

“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation (conduct), in charity (love), in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).

When I was young I really liked this verse. Sometimes people did not want to listen to me because I was young, and I thought that the Apostle Paul “had it right” when he told Timothy not to allow anyone to despise his youth. But then I had to learn to read the rest of the verse. If Timothy were going to get respect from others, he needed to cultivate the qualities that would earn that respect. His speech, conduct, love, etc. all needed to be a good example to others.

It is the same today. Even though we are young we like to be respected, and that is good. But then the way we live, talk, and interact with others needs to be Christ-like. Then we will find that others, and especially older believers, will respect us. As we have often heard before, our actions are more important than what we say, and what we are is more important than what we do. If Christ is our object, then our life will reflect what He is.

“Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown” (Revelation 3:11).

There are different crowns mentioned in the Bible as rewards that the Lord will give us for faithfulness to Him in this world. To win this crown, it is important to hold onto the instruction and teaching that the Lord has given us. I have often seen small children hold onto something very tightly; why do they do that? It is because they are afraid that another child may take it from them. If we value the truth and blessing that the Lord has given us, we will want to enjoy it and walk in it. But if we give it up, the Lord may give it to someone else. Then in a coming day we will feel the loss when we see someone wearing a crown that we might have had.

If you are growing up in a Christian home, you have been given much from the Lord. It is important to appreciate it, and to live it out in your life. Satan wants you to give it up, so it takes effort to hold onto it, but it will be worth it when we stand before the Lord Jesus someday, and hear Him say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:21).

“For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep” (Acts 13:36).

Perhaps we can close this series of meditations on David with a verse about him from the New Testament. David had his failures, but overall he was a faithful man, king, and inspired writer. When he did fail, he always repented of his sin and was restored to the Lord.

Here in our verse today we read that he served his own generation, and then “fell on sleep,” which simply means that he died. This is important for all of us to understand. Different generations have different needs, and God raises up those who will serve a particular generation. Then He calls them home and raises up others to serve a new generation.

Those in my age group are getting to the end of any service we can be for the Lord in this world, and if He does not come, we too will be taken home. But then the Lord looks to younger ones like yourselves to step up and take our place. This is something to think about, even at a young age. Are you willing to serve your generation for the Lord?

“So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron…and they anointed David king over Israel” (2 Samuel 5:3).

David had been anointed king many years before, probably when he was still a teenager. Yet it had taken all this time for him actually to be made king. He had begun to reign over Judah when he was thirty years old, but did not become king over all Israel until he was thirty-seven. That was a long time to wait!

However, it is always good to wait the Lord’s time in our lives. David learned some valuable lessons while he was running from Saul; he learned to trust the Lord completely, and he maintained this faith the rest of his life. Many of the psalms were written during this time, and they are wonderful expressions of how David experienced God’s care for him.

Sometimes we too may have to go through some hard experiences in our lives, but let us remember that the Lord has blessing for us at the end. If we go through the trouble with Him, we learn things from the difficulties in our lives, and the Lord has promised to bring us through them. We will get the victory in the end!

“And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines” (1 Samuel 27:1).

Here we find a rather low point in David’s life. David and Abishai, one of his men, had just gone down into Saul’s camp at night, while they were all asleep, and taken Saul’s cruse (jug) of water and his spear. David had returned the spear to Saul, and Saul had admitted to David that he was wrong to keep trying to kill him. Yet in spite of this encouragement from the Lord, David became discouraged, and went over to the Philistines, who were the enemies of Israel.

It can be this way in our lives, too. Satan often attacks us after a victory, and persuades us that it is not worth it to follow the Lord. He tells us that we will have an easier path if we become a friend of the world. But the Word of God says, “Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4). The Lord preserved David, but he got into some serious difficulties as a result of this decision. Read about it in 1 Samuel, chapters 29 and 30.

“And he (David) arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city” (1 Samuel 20:42).

“And David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house” (1 Samuel 23:18).

Jonathan was a good friend of David’s, and he encouraged David several times, even going down to the wilderness to visit him, when Saul was trying to kill him. Yet in both cases recorded in our verses today, he went back to the city and to his house. He was a king’s son, and perhaps the thought of “camping out” in the woods for an extended period of time did not appeal to him. He was unwilling to go into rejection with David. As a result, he died in the battle on Mount Gilboa later on.

Jonathan is like the Christian who does not want to share rejection with Christ. We can be true believers and really love the Lord, yet be unwilling to take our place outside of this world. But if we follow the Lord Jesus, we must be willing to go into rejection with Him, even if it means separating from close relatives, and perhaps some of the comforts we may be used to having. Christ must have the first place in our lives!

“And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, “Wherefore shall he (David) be slain? What hath he done? And Saul cast a javelin at him (Jonathan) to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David” (1 Samuel 20:32-33).

Saul was envious of David, because David was braver and more highly thought of than Saul himself. Several times in the past, when David was playing the harp for Saul, to soothe him and refresh his spirit, Saul had thrown a javelin at him, trying to kill him. Eventually David fled for his life, but Jonathan, Saul’s son, was a good friend of David’s. When Jonathan defended David to Saul, Saul actually threw the javelin at his own son!

In this story, David is a picture of the Lord Jesus, and the world, so to speak, has already thrown the javelin at Him, by nailing Him to the cross. But now that they cannot touch the Lord Jesus, they will throw the javelin at you and me as Christians, if we speak well of the Lord Jesus. Let us be prepared for this, for the Lord Jesus said, “If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20).

“And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways” (1 Samuel 18:14).

“Saul saw that he (David) behaved himself very wisely” (1 Samuel 18:15).

“David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul” (1 Samuel 18:30).

In spite of his victory over Goliath, David found himself in a difficult situation. The people praised him, and liked him better than king Saul. Saul hated David as a result, and wanted to get rid of him. But David acted properly before the Lord, and was wise in how he conducted himself. He was loyal to Saul, yet kept careful watch on the whole situation, for he knew he was in danger.

 We get good advice in the New Testament for similar situations. The Lord Jesus told his disciples to be “wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). What does this mean? It means that we are to show this world the fruit of the Spirit — love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (Galatians 5:22-23). At the same time, we are to remember that we are in an enemy’s land. We are to behave ourselves wisely, watching out for attacks of Satan, and relying on the Lord to keep us.

“And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine (Goliath)…Saul said unto him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Beth-lehemite” (1 Samuel 17:57-58).

As we saw yesterday, Saul had already become familiar with David, for David had played his harp to drive away the evil spirit that troubled Saul. Yet later, when David went out and killed Goliath, Saul had no idea who he was. This seems strange to us, for evidently Saul liked David, and he had been Saul’s armorbearer, at least for a while (1 Samuel 16:21). But it seems that by the time Goliath appeared, David had returned home again and Saul had forgotten him.

This is often the way it is with the Christian and this world. They may be glad for us to soothe and comfort them when they are in trouble, but when it comes to fighting the Lord’s battles, they do not recognize us. Saul was glad when David played the harp for him, but did not like it when David’s courage exposed Saul’s weakness. As we shall see, from this point on Saul became David’s enemy. Likewise, when we preach Christ to this world, we will become their enemy.

“And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him” (1 Samuel 16:23).

Earlier in our chapter, we read that the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and instead an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. Even his servants had enough discernment to recognize this. It was doubtless one of Satan’s demons that the Lord allowed to torment Saul. He himself should have recognized this, and judged the sin that he had done.

But David, a man of God, could play on his harp so that the evil spirit left him; it could not torment Saul in David’s presence. You and I may not often have to face evil spirits, but a godly Christian can often be a comfort even to a worldly person who is troubled. I have seen sinful worldly people who were happy for a short time when they were in the company of some happy Christians, because of the peaceful atmosphere. But unless they accept Christ as their Savior, the problem will return, for like Saul, they are not dealing with the root of their trouble. But it is a good testimony to show them the peace that Christ gives us.