“All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him.”
When I was kid, we always picked teams. All of us would line up, pick the two guys to be the team captains, and then start picking people to be on our team from the ones left. We always wanted to be on the good team, the one with all the known athletes and tough guys. However, the inevitable would happen; I get picked to be on the bad team. The team with the weak and non-athletic boys. The team was sure to lose and they often did.
Under Saul, Israel was in constant war with the Philistines. Always fighting and pulling resources to wage war was costly. Meanwhile, David was still on the run from Saul as he was putting in all his effort into killing him. David already ran away in the middle of the night from his home, played like he was crazy, and finds himself living in a cave.
Chapter 22 tells us that Jesse and his brothers find out about this and go to see him. 400 men come along with them who are the byproducts of Saul’s machine. They were in debt, distressed, and discontented with their life under Saul. In short, these men were at the their end. They were so distressed they have already left their homes and friends because life there was not a life they wanted. David became their commander. On the run and in distress himself, David finds himself the commander of 400 worn out, discontented, and distressed men. Not the picture of mighty men at all you would guess. But these men become David’s mighty men in a few chapters.
You may be worn out, discontented, distressed, and in debt but God has a plan and he is working when you don’t feel or see it. Pay attention to the people the Lord puts in your path of life, they might become your mighty men and even save your butt one day.
The Bible says in Psalms 1: 1-3 says
1 Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
Put your delight in the law of Lord and meditate on it day and night even when you are in distress and discontented. You will find that you will become like a tree planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in and out of season and whatever your hand finds to do will prosper. The hard work is putting your delight in the law of Lord daily.
Prayer: Father, your Word says if we lift you up, you will draw all men unto you. As we lift you up every day we take hold and account for all the people you put in our path like the 400 men you put in David’s path when he was at his lowest. Help us to not judge those people who seem to gather under our leadership. As we comfort those who need to be comforted and embolden those who need to be strengthened, keep our mind and hearts on serving you and standing on the promises of the Word of God no matter what our eyes see. Help us walk by faith and not by sight knowing that you go before us and fight our battles. Father, help us do the work of reading your word every day and letting it soak into our minds and hearts so we can be equipped, ready to defend the faith and do every good work. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Let It Go 
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