From Andrew Brunson -
“Let it be clear, I am in prison, not for anything I have done wrong, but because of who I am—a Christian pastor. I desperately miss my wife and children. Yet, I believe this to be true—it is an honor to suffer for Jesus Christ, as many have before me.”

“I know that God’s grace is sustaining me, even when I do not feel that grace, and I know that the prayers of God’s people are surrounding me and giving strength. One of my big fears has been that I will be forgotten in prison. Thank you for not forgetting! …It reminds me that I am not alone, and that I need to stand firm, with my face pointed in God’s direction always.”

Here are a couple reviews of books read over the past few months.  For more, see here.

Single, Dating, Engaged, Married: Navigating Life and Love in the Modern Age, by Ben Stuart

I've read a lot of books about dating and marriage, and I'd say this is the best "overall" book I've read on these topics. There are other books that might be more applicable for people in particular situations, like "Courtship in Crisis" for those coming out of conservative homeschool backgrounds trying to figure out how to date, or "For Men Only/For Women Only" for trying to understand the other sex better, or books by the Smalleys or the Eggerichs or the Holcombs for those in difficult marriage situations, or books by Piper, Keller, or Chan for 'theory-of-marriage' type discussions. But this one by Ben Stuart is like 4 books in one, and it is accessible for Christian or nonChristian, and for those coming from a "romantically conservative" or "romantically liberal" background. These are two very different audiences, and it is hard to write to both of them. But I think Stuart succeeds. For example, he writes on page 61 that it is important to have both "character and chemistry", when deciding who to date. The importance of "chemistry" is very important to hear for the "romantically conservative" single Christians who are typically being told by other older married Christians that they must be being too picky, and should just go date and marry some particular godly person in their sphere regardless of whether they're attracted or not. The importance of "character" is important for the "romantically liberal" singles who too quickly/easily fall into romantic attachment with someone who is not sufficiently mature/godly.

In the chapter on singleness, Stuart hits all the same points which these books usually hit, regarding the purpose of singleness in the life of a Christian (ministry)... but he goes deeper, more thoroughly and more Biblically. He goes through the example of the life of Paul, in discussing how to leverage singleness for the glory of God. Some points: 1. Never stop (e.g. Paul even at the end of his life was still active in ministry), 3. invest in the next generation (e.g. Paul mentoring Timothy and others), 3. Cultivate deep friendships (e.g. Luke, etc), 4. Keep learning ("bring the parchments"), 5. Make enemies (! Most books on singleness would not go this far, but I think he is right... following Jesus will typically cause one to make enemies...), 6. Forgive (2 Timothy 4:14, etc), 7. Be courageous, 8. Rest (trust in God's sovereignty)

Next, he presents 7 principles on dating, which are excellent. 1. The importance of prayer. 2. The importance of clarity - explaining to the other person what are your intentions and where you are emotionally at various points in time so they're not guessing. 3. The importance of autonomy- the danger of becoming 'exclusive' (or physical) in the dating phase (rather than reserving exclusivity for engagement, and all physical until marriage). 4. Similarly, the importance of purity. 5. The importance of graciousness (this one was kind of vague, but basically, act in such a way to try to build up the other person, so that regardless of whether the dating relationship moves toward marriage or not, the other person is helped and bettered through the relationship), 6. The importance of community (friends, counselors, family)... interestingly, all of the examples he shared were of friends exercising 'veto' recommendations, recommending against continuing a harmful relationship. He did not share any examples of friends putting pressure on a person to date a particular someone else... and rightly so, I think, because the latter is much less helpful. 7. The importance of patience in dating ... taking time to get to know someone, seeing them in many, varied, and stressful situations, etc. A few other miscellaneous points of interest - in his chapter on sex, he mentions that conquering temptation requires two things: getting stronger on external boundaries, and softer regarding internal self-condemnation. The latter involves remembering how we have been forgiven by Jesus, accepted and loved perfectly by Him, etc. Both (external fighting and internal reveling) are necessary, whereas most people focus on only one or the other.

Here's an excerpt from his study of Abraham's servant:
"As soon as I say that, I know some of you may be thinking, 'That's easy for you to say, Ben. But what are the odds I'm going to find someone like that? It seems all the good ones are gone.' But I challenge you to adopt Abraham's perspective: the God who leads us will also provide for us. Abraham is a man of faith. This leads me to my next point: trust that the God who saved you can provide a mate for you [*]. Many of us can trust God with a lot of stuff, but when it comes to marriage we're scared to death he's going to do something terrible to us: we'll never meet someone, or if we trust God to provide a husband we will have to wait forever and then the guy will be weird or not at all what we want. So we take it into our own hands, which usually involves trying to dress a certain way, or act a certain way, or say certain things in order to 'catch', 'land', 'bag', or 'win' our mate. As a result, trusting the Lord (with the side effects of joy, peace, and a whole lot more) goes flying out of our lives. Don't be a 'believer' who doesn't believe God will care for you. If you have trusted God with your eternal destiny, you can trust him with your love life."
[*] IMHO, I think he should have added a caveat here, "... if He knows it would be best for you to be married." I.e., God certainly CAN provide. But He has not promised to provide a spouse for most people, and we should not pretend that He has promised this.

Stuart's recommendations on the type of person to look for are excellent (based on Rebekah and Isaac), but they are fairly common-sense, and identical to all the other dating books.

Next, he discusses the engagement period. Regarding indecision and when to pop the question, he has some excellent (though probably controversial!) advice. Excerpt: "... when trying to discern if commitment is present. Does this mean that you will always feel a strong sense of passion? No. What I am about to write here will sound very unromantic, but it is reality. You will be playing the percentages. What I mean is this: if 90 percent of the time you feel confident they are the one for you, that is a good sign. Our emotions rise and fall throughout the day. No one has a single, sustained emotional experience every minute of the day. That means there will be moments you feel indifferent about the love of your life. ... My question is, how many moments of the day are filled with thoughts like that? ... Now if four or five out of every ten thoughts about him or her are, 'Eh, I don't know if this is going to work', then don't get married!..." This helpfully "de-spiritualizes" the decision-making process, IMHO.

He has several helpful suggestions. He suggests that before engagement takes place, a serious conversation or set of conversations related to confession should happen... e.g., explaining all the secrets and baggage and stuff from one's past. There should be no big secrets between the couple, before engagement. He also suggests that engaged couples should carefully consider the finances (budget, savings, giving, etc), and discuss with the parents to show that they are financially ready for marriage. He also suggests that regularly (e.g. once a week) the engaged couple set aside time to avoid talking about the wedding and instead discuss plans for the marriage, and he presents a bunch of discussion questions.

In the section on marriage, he has good advice, and tries to exegete the most important Biblical texts on marriage, e.g. Ephesians 5. He chickens out a bit at one or two spots when trying to explain what "submit" means, but overall he does a good job. He tries really hard to make it palatable for modern ears.

The last section, about ministry together as a couple (Aquila and Priscilla), is excellent (and reminiscent of Francis Chan's book and other books).
I highly recommend this book, as a "general", "overall", "safe to give to anyone", "unique", "up-to-date", "gentle", "Biblical", and wise guide to all four life stages (singleness, dating, engagement, and marriage). I think it would be an excellent book for couples to read together and discuss, and for premarital counseling talks. I think that this one and the recent book "Courtship in Crisis" are the two best books for modern singles to read about the topic of dating. Stuart's book is also worth reading about the topic of singleness.
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Contested Bones, by Christopher Rupe and John Sanford
This book goes through all the fossil human and ape (and alleged ape-man) bone discoveries (as of late 2017), and discusses their history and morphology. It convincingly shows that there are no transitional forms, between apes and humans. It also discusses the problems with dating of the bones, such as the history of certain bones being re-dated again and again to fit changing external scientific paradigms or political schemes. It also briefly discusses the genetic evidence, which likewise does not support evolution. Instead, the evidence strongly fits and confirms the Biblical account in Genesis, of separate creation of the kinds (human, ape, etc), and the Flood, and subsequent age. This is an excellent book! The research is superb. The tone is gentle and professional. I was sometimes annoyed by the writing style, which was repetitive (often repeating the same point 3 or 4 times in slightly different wording). But I think one can overlook the writing style in view of the excellent research presented. Highly recommended.
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Behind the Ranges: the story of J.O.Fraser, by Geraldine Taylor
This biography is about an early missionary to China, J.O.Fraser. He was a very godly and talented man, spending lots of time and effort reaching the people in the southwest corner of China with the gospel. He spent lots of time in prayer. The book tells of his successes and failures, various people he mentored, etc. He reached thousands of people with the gospel, and mentored many local churches. His is a life worth studying and emulating, and this is a book worth reading, I think.

"I pray you experience the soul-crushing weight of guilt so you may someday experience true repentance and true forgiveness from God, which you need far more than forgiveness from me—though I extend that to you as well..."
--- Rachael Denhollander, at Larry Nassar's trial this week

"If you have read the Bible you carry, you know the definition of sacrificial love portrayed is of God himself loving so sacrificially that he gave up everything to pay a penalty for the sin he did not commit. By his grace, I, too, choose to love this way."

What's the connection between MLKJ's vision of social justice and the creation/evolution dialog? Are all humans created equal, or not? Great article by Nancy Pearcey:

https://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/nancy-pearcey/liberal-elites-are-killing-martin-luther-king-jrs-vision

Here are some more book reviews... enjoy!  For earlier reviews, see  http://tim223.xanga.com/category/book-reviews/

We Died Before We Came Here, by Emily Foreman
This is a beautifully-written account of their family's years in a North African country, and the circumstances around her husband's murder by Al-Qaeda in 2010, and how God sustained them through it, and some of the fruit that has already been seen afterward. Highly recommended.

City of Tranquil Light, by Bo Caldwell
This is a novel about two missionaries to China in the late 1800's and early 1900's, based loosely on the lives of her grandparents, and with other true stories from other missionaries added in to their lives. It is a beautiful and powerful book, as the stories (told from the alternating points of view of both the husband and the wife) show their struggles to fit in and make friends and preach the gospel in China... and the hardships they went through, and God's faithfulness through it all. I found myself wishing it was a simple biography (rather than a novel). Other than that, great book.

Openness Unhindered, by Rosaria Butterfield
This is a very thoughtful book. Her first book, "Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert", tells her story (journey out of liberal/lesbian/atheism into Christianity). Here she shares more excellent thoughts on the mistaken categories our secular world has constructed regarding sexual identity, and how to use words and categories Biblically in this area. Also, her chapter 7 on "Community" is one of the most powerful portrayals of hospitality and Christian community I've ever seen. It is much more powerful and compelling than Dietrich Bonhoeffer's "Life Together"... it is basically an exposition of Acts 4 combined with a practical application of Jay Pathak's "The Art of Neighboring"... the book is well worth reading just for this one chapter about practical hospitality, even if you don't know anyone who struggles with the sexual orientation topics discussed in the rest of the book.

Not Just A Soup Kitchen, by David Apple
This book is focused on practical aspects of helping people who are in poverty, addicted to drugs, homeless, etc. He talks about the practical aspects of being a deacon in a church... everything from how to respond when someone asks for money, to how to visit the sick or dying. He shares his own story of his spiritual journey. Excellent book... recommended for all church deacons, elders, pastors.

< a very powerful memoir... not listed here because I would rather not have search engines indexing it ... contact me for details>

Girls Like Us: Fighting for a world where girls are not for sale, by Rachel Lloyd
This is a powerful memoir of Rachel's life, interweaving stories from her own life (how she became a victim of commercial sexual exploitation) and from the lives of the girls she now works with (through GEMS, in New York City) and helps to leave and recover from that life. She shares about how Christ's love (demonstrated through Christians) has helped her toward wholeness, and helped her to escape the psychological manipulation of her pimp(s). She also shares of their work to get states, cities, and police departments to recognize that commercially exploited children are not criminals ("prostitutes") to be prosecuted, but victims to be rescued. Highly recommended book.

Unless a Grain of Wheat: The Life of G. Christopher Willis I, by W.A.Willis
This is a biography of a Christian who became a missionary to China and other parts of Asia in the 20th century, for some 30-40 years. Its writing style is of mediocre interest, but the topic, the man Christopher Willis, is well worth reading. He seemed to be humble, friendly, faithful, Bible-centered, etc, and overall have a very fruitful ministry. He ran a Christian literature and printing business in China, and spent 2 years in a Japanese POW camp during WWII. Good things can be learned from his life, I think. The title sums up his life nicely. "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." (John 12:24) Willis 'died' to his earthly ambitions, and saw much spiritual fruit (and more came along after he was gone).

Helping others overcome addictions, by Steve McVey and Mike Quarles
The main point of this book is that Jesus Christ is not only the MAIN thing needed by an addict to overcome his addiction (i.e. a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, believing in Jesus Christ, becoming saved by Jesus Christ), but in fact the ONLY thing needed. All other things are merely crutches, of limited help... whereas recognizing one's new status as a fully-loved, righteous, clean, child of God, is the ONLY thing that will provide lasting freedom from any kind of addiction.
For example, they take issue with AA's pattern of having people introduce themselves as "Hi, my name is __ and I'm an alcoholic". "No!" the authors state, it is no longer accurate for a Christian to think of himself with that 'old identity' of alcoholic... instead he has a new nature, righteous in Christ, 'all things have become new', it's only 'sin dwelling in me' that does the sins, etc etc.
The intent of this book is good, and many of its points are good. But it is written in a very polemical style (even sometimes self-promotional), and some of its points are very controversial. They try to 'split hairs', it seems, in their interpretation of certain things... I'm not sure if I agree. I think I'll read it again in a few years (or discuss with others) to try to figure out if I agree with certain things they say. This book MIGHT be helpful for some people, but it might not.

(warning - spoilers below - you might want to watch the movie first before reading)

I really liked Star Wars episode VII "The Force Awakens"... I thought it was the best of the series so far.  However, some of the worldview implications were sad (though definitely thought-provoking).  Here are 3 things I noticed: one good, two bad.  (One additional point that I might write about some time are the extreme feminist characterization of Rey...)

 
1. Stormtroopers can be saved too
I liked the plot twist of having stormtrooper "Finn" end up deciding that he's going to leave the First Order, despite growing up loyal to it.  Basically, before this point in the Star Wars saga, stormtroopers were always bad, all the time.  They were 'one-dimensional'.  The idea of a stormtrooper with a conscience, and a choice to decide whether he's going to follow a commander he thinks is gratuitously evil, is an idea that is powerful (think modern bogeymen, like ISIS terrorists...? There is good in all of us, and evil in all of us) and realistic (all of us DO in fact have a conscience and moral choice, implanted in us by God, our Creator.  I see this plot twist as saying, no one is too evil to be redeemed... those who repent can be forgiven and have a new life, regardless of their past...  (cf. my note about Orcs in the Tolkien world... http://tim223.xanga.com/2015/01/05/the-orc-that-nobody-wanted/  )

 
2. "The Force" tries to imply that You (human) are ultimately the most powerful being (in the Star-Wars world, and beyond) (unfortunately this common and comfortable narrative is false...)

The Force obviously plays an important role in the Star Wars story.  This concept of an impersonal mysterious force created-by and permeating all of life pulls ideas from a range of eastern and pagan religions (but is not identical to any of them, to my knowledge).

One reason the Force is so interesting is that it taps into something we are already familiar with in daily life - the "religious" or "sacred".  For example, Han Solo (in the original films) or Rey asked skeptical questions of their elders about whether the Force is real or just a hocus-pocus fable - this dialog is a common theme in our polarized religious/secular world.  Phrases from the movies like "May the Force be with you" and "The Force will be with you, always" are obvious allusions to the Bible (with the Force as a replacement for God), and Rey's "religious experience moment" near the end of SW7 seeks to glorify the Force (it saves her, as she remembers it, rests in it and then utilizes it...)  George Lucas has explained that one of his deliberate aims in adding the Force to the movies is to stimulate a sense of spirituality in young viewers.

(Side tangent #1 - I've often wondered why the characters in the story who sometimes use the Force to do amazing (paranormal/supernatural) feats can't utilize those powers more often... why can they only pull it out once in a while?  There are probably two explanations: in the story world, they simply forget about the Force (and remember in the nick of time), whereas in the movie-making world, it would make the story too simplistic if the heros simply used the Force all the time.)

But interestingly, the Star Wars "Force" is actually instead directly analogous to spiritism and the occult, not the God of the Bible.  How so?  In the story, the key aspect of the Force is that you can control it, or channel it, to do your bidding.  Granted, there are certain individuals in the story which are more "sensitive" to the Force than others (e.g. the Skywalkers, Rey, Palpatine, etc), but in principle it's just a matter of mastering certain techniques to make the Force do what you want it to do.  The Force never disobeys, it only obeys you to a greater or lesser extent.

Similarly, the occult (evil spirits) in our real world provides real supernatural powers to those who surrender their lives to it.  This is connected with what might be called the "universal religion" - all spiritistic or theistic religions (other than Christianity) provide a way to 'gain control over' the spirits and get what you want... or 'put the deity in your debt' so that you can get what you want. Hindus offer gifts to a particular goddess for prosperity, Catholics offer prayers to patron saints, animistic folk offer chickens to their idols, Shintoists offer gifts to their dead ancestors, and even materialistic cultures like the Chinese spend money on all kinds of good luck charms.  Americans holding to "moralistic therapeutic deism" (the dominant 'religion' in America) likewise tend to believe in a false prosperity gospel... 'give to the church, and God will bless me financially'... 'do good works, and God will let me into heaven'.

By contrast, when we pray to God (the Creator, the One True God, described in the Bible), there are no techniques for manipulating Him.  Unbelievers have no connection with Him... and as for us, His children (Christians), we can submit our requests to Him, but He will answer or not answer depending on what He knows is best for us, because of His love for us.  He cannot be tamed or manipulated.

(Side tangent #2 - I suspect that we are being "set-up" for some upcoming supernatural demonstrations, when the Great Imposter (the Antichrist) arrives... As Jesus predicted: Matthew 24:24 "For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect...."  (not that the movie creators are doing this consciously, but the spiritual forces influencing the world may be doing this... imagine what you would think if you saw supernatural powers (like in the movies) being displayed in broad daylight in our world?  Like this, except real? https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=999277153464049  )

(Side tangent #3 - I've been realizing what a large percentage of our modern cinematographic heros are in the same exact story position as ancient gods (Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Babylonian, etc).  Basically, they have superpowers of some kind (supernatural powers), but other than that they are human... they have all the same foibles, lusts, arguments, indulgences, etc.  They are mere "larger-than-life" men/women.  They are on a 'continuum', so to speak... as in the Mormon doctrine "...as God is now, man may be."
This includes Star-Wars Jedi & Sith, X-men, all the Marvel/DC comics - Batman, Superman, Captain America, Thor (perfect fit), IronMan, etc.
(It also includes Tolkien's characters, like Gandalf, Sauron, Elrond, Galadriel, etc... Each of these in Tolkien's saga have "personal power" of greater or lesser degrees.  In Tolkien's saga, there is at least a "God", Illuvatar, who started the universe, but then he never again gets directly and personally involved... so there is a dim step toward accuracy, but not clear.  In the other superhero movies, "God" is eliminated - he is viewed as irrelevant, and mankind's only hope is the various "demigods" such as Superman, Luke Skywalker, etc.)
I think this trend is deliberate... perhaps not on the part of the moviemakers, but on the part of the evil spiritual forces that are constantly trying to pull and push the world and all its humans away from God the Creator.  The same pagan metanarrative keeps popping up, generation after generation: "You don't need God, instead, you yourself can be the supreme power.")

The Star Wars concept of the Force fits perfectly into this narrative which is so comfortable to us as fallen sinful humans... it reassures us that WE are in control... "I am master of my own fate".

However, this is a lie.  God is in control, and we are not Him.  My point is not merely that the Biblical worldview is different than the Star Wars worldview, or that the Force doesn't exist in the real world.  Instead, I am making the case that all religions other than Christianity seek to put man at the center (in the position of control), and that not only does the actual world we live in correspond to a different order (God, not man, is in control), but that it is BETTER this way... that God OUGHT to be in control... that if there was no God and we were really in control, we would royally mess things up.

 
3. "History is cyclic", says Star Wars (and many other epics)

My final point is that in the Star Wars world (as in eastern religions), there is no end to the historical cycle of good and evil.  After each movie's (or set of 3 movies') finale, it seems that "good has triumphed"... but we know it is not permanent.  Evil will always arise again, in some other form.

(Side tangent #4 - Tolkien's LOTR shows the same - the world keeps groaning on, and the happy moments of triumph (Sauron/Morgoth finally defeated, Aragorn finally crowned king) are followed by more pain and sorrow (Arwen loses immortality, then Aragorn dies, then Arwen dies... and even those who go to the Gray Havens, while they get a little peace, end up living with the escapist and callous Valar.... evil is never permanently removed, only put into remission for a while, only to break out again.)

In Star Wars, even the Force, whose 'imbalance' is supposedly connected with the pain and suffering inflicted by those (Sith, Empire, First Order, etc) utilizing the 'dark side of the Force', does not draw toward a conclusion of perfect, permanent, goodness and happiness... but instead toward "balance".  Balance between good and evil?  Unfortunately, yes.

Consider how much more beautiful (not to mention the fact that it's also true!) is the Biblical view - that history is linear... it had a (beautiful) beginning, it was marred in Genesis 3 (the Fall) by sin and the subsequent legacy of pain and death, and it is headed toward an awesomely beautiful ending.

In heaven, there will be no more rebellion.  No more cancer.  No more death.  That is to say, in this world, our world, the real world, the final "End" (which is the beginning of many good and better things) puts a complete end to sin, death, evil, corruption, pain, etc.  To those who might complain that this is boring, please read this: http://tim223.xanga.com/2015/08/13/do-you-really-want-to-live-with-him-forever/

Conclusion

Hooray!  We really do live in the best of all possible worlds.  When I see films like Star Wars, on the surface level (entertainment) I enjoy them.  Great storytelling, great acting, great cinematography.  On the deeper level I loathe the dismal alternate hypothesis they suggest... and I find renewed delight that the actual state of affairs (described in the Bible) is so much better.

Here's an interesting letter.  The lady who wrote this was from Texas, and moved to Korea during the early 20th century.  She wrote this shortly after arriving, and shortly before dying of appendicitis.

Dad, mom!

This land, Chosun, is truely a beautiful land. They all resemble God. I see their good heart and zeal for the gospel, and I believe that in few years it will be a land overflowing with the love of Christ. I was children walking over 10 miles on barefoot to hear the gospel and the love of God in them encourages me.

But the persecution is getting stronger. Two days ago, three or four of those who have accepted Christ less than a week have been dragged away and were martyred. Missionary Thomas and James were also martyred. There were orders from the mission board to return, but the most missionaries are in hiding and worshiping with those whom they have shared the gospel with. It seems that they are all planning to be martyred. Tonight, I have strong desire to return home.

I remember you mom who resisted to the last moment of me leaving the port because of the stories of the hate of foreigners and opposition to the gospel.

Dad, Mom! Perhaps, this may be the last letter I will be writing. The seed that was sown in the backyard before I came out here must be filling our neighborhood with flowers. Another seed bear many flowers in the land of Chosun and they will be seeds to other nations.

I will bury my heart in this land. I realized that this passion for Chosun that I have is not mine but God’s passion toward Chosun.

Mom, Dad! I love you.

https://pastorqkim.wordpress.com/2013/02/13/thinking-of-ruby-kendricks/

Here's a letter from Saeed Abedini, from an Iranian prison, this past week, after 2 years of imprisonment (having done nothing wrong).  He writes to his 8-year old daughter.  His words are worth reading for all of us.

“I know that you question why you have prayed so many times for my return and yet I am not home yet. Now there is a big why in your mind you are asking: why Jesus isn’t answering your prayers and the prayers of all of the people around the world praying for my release and for me to be home with you and our family?”

”The answer to the why is who. Who is control? Lord Jesus Christ is in control. I desire for you to learn important lessons during these trying times. Lessons that you carry now and for the rest of your life.”

“I  pray God will bring me back home soon. But if not, we will still sing together…’Hallelujah,’ either separated by prison walls or together at home. So, let Daddy hear you sing a loud ‘Hallelujah’ that I can hear all the way here in the prison!”

Here's a good video about a true love story.

http://vimeo.com/38033654

1 Samuel 19 -

"¹¹ Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, in order to put him to death in the morning. ....

¹⁸ Now David fled and escaped and came to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth."

Samuel was the one who had anointed David originally, with the message that he would be king of Israel some day (1 Samuel 16).   David believed God, and Samuel his prophet, and this probably helped him in his bold exploits like fighting Goliath, etc... it must have been pretty nifty to have a prophecy spoken over you that you would some day be king... if the prophecy came from a trustworthy spokesperson of God (since God knows the future), one could be certain that one would not die before becoming king, and that would tend to give one great boldness in battle and life in general.

However, David's success as a soldier and general caused the existing king, Saul, to become envious of him and try to kill him, multiple times and over the course of many years  (1 Samuel 18ff).  David could have simply fought against Saul and captured the kingship.  But interestingly, he did not, though he repeatedly had "perfect opportunities" to do so, including twice sneaking up behind Saul when he had no protectors.  Instead, David kept running and hiding and fleeing, rather than fight against King Saul (who was also his father-in-law!).

1 Samuel 24 relates one of these times, when David was close enough behind King Saul to secretly cut off a piece of his robe, without Saul even noticing.  David's men urged David to kill Saul.  But he refused, saying "I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed."  In other words, David resolved to wait until he could have the kingship "in the right way", rather than seizing it for himself "the wrong way" out of impatience.

He believed (enough) in God's promise, such that he was content to wait, and wait, and wait.

From whence came this faith/trust?

Probably from many factors... but perhaps one of these factors was this brief meeting with Samuel in 1 Samuel 19:18.   David was telling Samuel.... "Remember, you anointed me the future king!?!? But then why is all this happening to me?  The king is trying to take my life!?  Where is God?  I try to follow God and do the right thing, and what do I get for it?  I'm on the run for my life.  My own king, the one I have served sincerely and faithfully, is trying to take me out.  Why?  What's the point of continuing this approach of 'waiting' and 'doing things the right way'??"

What did Samuel tell David?  ...that old prophet, who had counseled and provided justice for thousands of Israelites over the years, who had originally anointed Saul and had seen Saul's heartbreaking perfidy and turning-away from God... then had anointed David but had not yet seen the fulfillment of his prophecy.

His words are not recorded.  But he apparently listened to David, went with him on a trip to a town where he could be temporary safer, and gave him some powerful advice, which kept David on the path of walking with God for the next few months or years.  Many times in our lives too, the advice of an older godly person at the right moment can be extremely beneficial.   Maybe Samuel shared with David what he had seen in his own life, that God's answers to prayer are often very slow, but worth waiting for... and that God always keeps his promises.