WHERE YOU ARE ISN’T WHO YOU ARE

pastordallaspettis
Jul 11, 2023
2 min read

1 Samuel 22:1

David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down thither to him.

This is one verse out of what I believe to be one of the greatest comeback stories in the Bible. David was anointed King by Samuel a few years prior to this story but had yet to ascend the throne. He served under King Saul until Saul had become enraged with jealousy and vowed to kill his young competitor. Not only is David fleeing from Saul, but he is also running from Achish the Philistine King. Weary and afraid for his life, David finds shelter in a cave near Adullam. Can you imagine being anointed King, only to have to return to the field to shepherd sheep? Not to mention being tracked down like a wild animal to be killed for being who God had called you to be. David’s life was a series of ups and downs!

Still, no matter where David was, it never changed who he was. David was an anointed vessel of God. He knew it, and he believed it. Because of that anointing upon him, even living alone as a total outcast in a cave, men were drawn to him. It wasn’t the disgruntled soldiers of Saul’s mighty army; it was other outcasts just like him. Men who had fallen on helpless, or even hopeless, times.

But David was no ordinary man, he was a man after God’s heart. He knew God had called him to be a King, and he was going to be a King, whether in a castle or a cave. David had the faith to believe that WHERE YOU ARE ISN’T WHO YOU ARE.

Every King needs an army, and David took those four hundred misfits and eventually built an army of six hundred men known as the Mighty Men of David. He did not let his situation dictate his beliefs or his behavior. He held on to what God had promised.

We sing a song on occasion that says, “I am who You say I am…..” It is my prayer that you and I would have the faith and courage to be who God says we are. Maybe you’re not in the best place right now. You may be in the worst place you’ve ever been. You may even be there because of your own choices or actions. Who hasn’t? PLEASE LISTEN TO ME - WHERE YOU ARE IS NOT WHO YOU ARE! If you will confess your sin, God will be faithful and just to forgive your sin and cleanse you from ALL unrighteousness, but you must believe this for your own life before things will change. Get up, walk out of your failure, don’t look back. God has a future waiting that He has created just for you.

Maybe you can’t leave your cave yet, I get that. But act like a king while you’re still in the cave. Pray, study God’s Word, get in a small group, find an army, praise God while the world is watching. Refuse to be a victim and you will make it in the name of Jesus!