Daily Reading for Tuesday, Feb. 12: Mentoring
“Everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him; and he became captain over them.” 1 Samuel 22:2a NAS
Everyone needs a captain if they’re going to move from being in distress, in debt or discontented to being “mighty men of valor.” This is exactly what happened to David and his men. He became the captain of a group of men who seemingly had little potential for greatness. They had bad attitudes. They owed people money. They were probably having a whole host of emotional, mental, and physical issues that caused them to be in distress. And yet, this group became known throughout Israel as David’s Mighty Men. Why? Because David mentored them. He showed them how to live uprightly before God even in times of great need and sorrow. He loved God, and he did what was right. He listened to wisdom when Abigail stopped him from killing her husband and all the males in that household. He would not kill Saul even when he was twice in a position to do so. He followed the Lord and waited on God to establish his throne. And he did so all the while his men watched. They watched and learned. The more they learned, the more they watched. The more they watched, the more they learned. And, over time, something in them changed. They were no longer a rag-tag bunch of ne’er do wells. They became a mighty army. And their affection for their leader grew to be so great that some of them risked their lives just to get him a drink of water.
That kind of affection only comes in a mentoring relationship. David’s men were so grateful for all that David had done for them, and were proud of the men they had become because of David’s captaincy. Mighty men of valor are not born that way; they must be mentored so that the gift that is in them can be nurtured and grow, for it is the mentoring process that takes the seed of gifting and brings it to fruit.
Everyone needs a captain if they’re going to move from being in distress, in debt or discontented to being “mighty men of valor.” This is exactly what happened to David and his men. He became the captain of a group of men who seemingly had little potential for greatness. They had bad attitudes. They owed people money. They were probably having a whole host of emotional, mental, and physical issues that caused them to be in distress. And yet, this group became known throughout Israel as David’s Mighty Men. Why? Because David mentored them. He showed them how to live uprightly before God even in times of great need and sorrow. He loved God, and he did what was right. He listened to wisdom when Abigail stopped him from killing her husband and all the males in that household. He would not kill Saul even when he was twice in a position to do so. He followed the Lord and waited on God to establish his throne. And he did so all the while his men watched. They watched and learned. The more they learned, the more they watched. The more they watched, the more they learned. And, over time, something in them changed. They were no longer a rag-tag bunch of ne’er do wells. They became a mighty army. And their affection for their leader grew to be so great that some of them risked their lives just to get him a drink of water.
That kind of affection only comes in a mentoring relationship. David’s men were so grateful for all that David had done for them, and were proud of the men they had become because of David’s captaincy. Mighty men of valor are not born that way; they must be mentored so that the gift that is in them can be nurtured and grow, for it is the mentoring process that takes the seed of gifting and brings it to fruit.
Labels: Christianity, core values, mentoring devotion, missional
posted by Jennifer Rang at
12:01 AM
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