Mighty Men

"David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father's household heard about it, they went down to him there. All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader."
1 Samuel 22:1&2

I have often thought about this scripture. For some reason it has always been precious to me. It was at a time in David's life when things were not going so well. He was fleeing from Saul and was just beginning to gather his army. Of course all the best fighting men were already employed in king Saul's army. Those who were left seemed to be the least in the kingdom. But somehow, they were drawn to David.
    I think this story is a lot like many of ours. We are people who are distressed or in debt or discontented. We look for answers within ourselves. We turn to man's ideas for rescue, but in the end, they do not work. The wisdom of the world is foolishness to God. So we must turn to Jesus. It's ironic that sometimes he is our last resort. We should have run to him from the beginning. But in his eyes, it doesn't really matter. He is ready to receive us, no matter what our condition is. We may be broken or at our lowest point in life, but he will still receive us. In fact, he wants us. He willingly takes us as his own. God's army may look like a rag-tag group of weak people, but there is a strength that is found nowhere else, not in any other army.
    David is an Old Testament type of Christ. Many of the Psalms and prophecies were written with him in mind, but they were all foreshadowing the Messiah, Jesus himself. Later in David's life, he gathered around himself a group of soldiers often called "David's Mighty Men." They were men of renown, legends in their own time. Although the Bible does not tell us the names of the first men to gather to David, I have little doubt that some of these men became David's mighty men. They may have started as hurting, angry, discontent men, but they became strong and mighty warriors for David. Again, we are like these men. God takes us just the way we are. Like David, he never turns one person away. After we come to him, he works in our lives and we begin to become like him. We see the things he does and we emulate them. God takes a rag-tag bunch of people and makes them a mighty army for his glory.
    Stop thinking of yourself as a broken, in debt, discontent person. Start thinking of yourself the way God sees you; a mighty man in his kingdom. You used to live that way, but now you have moved on to greater things. You have joined an army and you are being shaped into a mighty person for God. When you joined, you were immediately given a position of authority. You ride with an army that follows the One riding the horse with "King of Kings and Lord of Lords" written on his thigh. The army is powerful with the most powerful One in history as its leader. We are confident, not fearful; brave, not cowardly. You and I are mighty men in the army of God!