Verse of the Day: 1 Samuel 22:1-2, David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. So when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. 2 And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him.
In yesterday’s devotional I pointed out that when we turn to God first in our times of despair, He will send the people He chooses to be a blessing in our lives, and by the same token we are to be ready to be the ones He sends to be a blessing to someone else. After David’s time in the cave, God first sends all his father’s house to be with him. This is a blessing. As we might recall, when Samuel was looking for Israel’s next king, under God’s direction, Jesse, David’s father, did not even consider presenting David before Samuel (1 Samuel 16:11). Later, when David took a stand against Goliath and his threats, his brothers were not pleased with him (1 Samuel 17). Here, their attitude toward David had obviously changed, and now they were on their way to support him. Next we see the people who came out after David, to follow him, a group of stressed out, debt-ridden, bitter people. Stop and think about that for a moment. If we were living out some of the worst days of our lives, would these be the kind of people we would want to have responsibility over? Would we welcome people who might only add to our misery as we try to overcome our own? Humanly speaking, and if we were honest before God, we would have to admit that this would not be acceptable. Yet, this is exactly what God did. As absurd as all of this may seem, it is actually a perfect arrangement. David was called by God to be the future king of Israel. These very people who have fled to David would be the very same people whom David would eventually lead as king. This was the perfect training ground for a future king. As a matter of fact, if we just take a step back, we can see a picture of the church. The Lord Jesus Christ is our King of kings and Lord of lords. He died to give us eternal life and now wants all the lost and broken to come to Him, to follow Him and serve Him as He prepares us for His coming reign. There are many in the world today who are stressed out, in debt, broke, and bitter. The Lord desires that we come to Him with all our despair and hopelessness, first believing that He is Savior and Lord, accepting His free gift of eternal life, and allowing Him to change our life and circumstances (Matthew 11:28-10). I am not saying that life will suddenly be easy simply because we accept Jesus. What I am saying is that in Jesus we can deal with anything this world throws at us. These people were the last people that the world would choose to be qualified to serve David and be an encouragement to him. The fact of the matter is that not all of us are called to lead. Some of us are called to follow, and if we do this faithfully, we can be a blessing to those God has chosen to lead. Sadly, we have too many within our midst that are more like Korah, who formed a rebellion against Moses’ leadership in Numbers 16, than they are like these 400 whom God has directed to David. A God-ordained leader cannot lead if he has no followers. If God is leading us to follow, then our obedience in following is just as important as the role of the ones called to lead. These people, with all their troubles were actually an encouragement and blessing to David, for he was no longer alone. The kind of people that God sent to David was also a real test of his character, as he could have easily formed a group of rebels to attack King Saul. Instead, he chose to continue to honor Saul as king, and preferred to stay on the run. Along with David being tested, those who chose to follow David were also being molded and tested. Imagine leaving your home to follow one who was on the run, who rather than turn around and take back what was left behind, chose to stay on the run honoring the one who caused all this to begin with. The loyalty of this bunch to their future king was surely being tested. Their journey with David would serve to be a testing ground and preparation for the coming reign of this chosen man by God. Contrary to what we see here, these men, with all their baggage, proved to be mighty men of valor who served David faithfully as he sought to serve the Lord. 1 Chronicles 12:8 tells us, “Some Gadites joined David at the stronghold in the wilderness, mighty men of valor, men trained for battle, who could handle shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as gazelles on the mountains”. Many of us came to the Lord, stressed, broke and bitter. God is working in us, preparing us not only for our service to Him here on earth, which can be quite challenging beyond what we might imagine, but He is also preparing us for the time when we will come back with Him to rule and reign when He establishes His Millennial Kingdom (Revelation 20:4-6).
Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).
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