Bible Reading: 1 Samuel 16:14-23
David was Saul’s friend. Saul loved to listen to David’s music. Verse 23 of today’s Bible reading tells us that “Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take
his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.” David’s music relaxed Saul when he was hurting.
Later, Saul learned that David would soon be taking over Saul’s job. God, himself, had named David to be the next king of Israel. Saul was enraged. His jealousy over David’s success escalated to hatred and that hatred led to Saul’s attempting to murder his former friend.
God wants us to feel sad when our friends are hurting.
God also wants us to be happy for our friends when good things come their way. He wants us to celebrate our friends’ success with them, not become jealous or envious of the good things that happen to them.
When we rejoice when our friends rejoice and mourn when our friends mourn, our friendships won’t decaying into bitterness and hatred and our love for our friends will grow stronger.
“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” Romans 12:15 & 16
Prayer: Heavenly Father, send good things my friend’s way and help me to be happy for him. In Jesus’ name. Amen.