“And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to David. And he became captain over them.” 1 Samuel 22:2
This rabble included mighty men. We read some of the details in 1 Chronicles 11-12. These chapters stir me. I read of Jashobeam, who “wielded his spear against 300 whom he killed at one time” (1 Chronicles 11:11). Then there was Benaiah, “a doer of great deeds,” who “went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a snowy day” (1 Chronicles 11:22). There were more like these amazing men. And any man worth his salt wants to rise up and take his place among such men, for the Lord’s sake.
But we can get it wrong in two ways. Theologically, we know that Jesus is our David, our captain, and we rabble have gathered to him for his kingdom in our generation and the next. We are both weak in ourselves and strong in him. We know that. But we can lose our bearings in either of two ways.
One way is so to emphasize how strong we are that we lose touch with our real weakness. We read, “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (Ephesians 6:10). And so we should be. We have no excuse not to be. But we are also weak, and we would be fools not to factor in our pervasive weakness. It will show up.
The other misstep is so to emphasize our weakness that we lose touch with his real power. “Wretched man that I am!” (Romans 7:24) gives voice to the Christian, I believe. But if all we do is wring our hands and moan, “Oh, I’m so broken, I’m so broken,” without laying hold of God’s strength — that self-indulgence will defeat us every time.
Here is how we can be David’s mighty men today: “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). Both are there — our weakness, his strength — and in proper relation to one another. Neither reality cancels out the other. But our weakness is the opportunity for his strength. A faithful man of God openly, even gladly, admits his weaknesses, because the power of Christ is resting upon him. His deep needs and the Lord’s great supply combine to make him an honest, mighty man.
Which are you denying today — your weakness or his strength? Which do you need to acknowledge and embrace? If you ask the right questions with an honest heart, the Lord will be with you and will make you strong, whatever your weakness.
