1st Samuel 20:27 ~ And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the month, that David’s place was empty: and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor to day?
David had discovered Saul’s intentions to kill him, and even so, he gave his best friend Jonathan the opportunity to prove to him that his father had no ill will toward him. Once both Jonathan and David were aware that Saul was indeed plotting to kill David, Jonathan and David met one last time to say their goodbyes.
The story of Jonathan and David is one of my favorites. Their friendship is the epitome of what true friendship should be and is set before us as an example of what Christian friendship should look like. As I read this text this morning, the first thought that came to my mind was “David didn’t sit in yesterday’s grace, and neither should we.” Why this message is on my heart I do not know, but the Lord does. Perhaps it is you that read it today, or another week or month down the line that needs to comprehend what the Lord is saying.
David had served King Saul honorably, but when Saul rebelled against the Lord and the Lord’s hand was removed he was aware that David was next in line to the throne and that God’s favor now rested on David. Broken hearted, David made the choice to leave. He could not sit in yesterday’s grace, it was gone. If he stayed he’d surely be dead.
There are times in our lives when we must realize that it is better to move on than stay put and die. I’ve had to make that decision multiple times. Sometimes on the secular front with my career and other times on the spiritual, but both were fronts of a battlefield. It’s not easy to leave friends and it’s extremely hard to swallow that a friend has become an enemy. Things change; and where we once found grace, it’s now gone. If I had stayed in the position I was in my zeal for life would have died; enemies have a way of draining the life out of you.
Don’t live in yesterday’s grace. Ministry should be a mobile force, and by mobile I mean moving forward! If David had stayed in that place we would not know of King David. God’s plan would have moved forward without him and David would have missed out on the greatest adventure of his life. Yes he made mistakes, he was far from a perfect man; but what made him a man after God’s own heart was his servitude. And when the opportunity to serve ceased… he moved on.