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 commander. About four hundred men were with him. -1 Samuel 22:1 & 2, NIV
One day, he was killing wolves. Another day he was killing lions. And then he fought with bears —and won! And then he fought against an uncircumcised idiot who blabbed about his might when only a shot and a cut did the job to get rid of him. He was the leader of the armies of the God of Hosts...and this is how God thanked him for being His holy vessel!?!? Wow, looks like His sense of humor is pretty off-putting for us puny humans.
Then David stopped running and collapsed in sweat and terror and pain. If his day can't get any worse, think about his tongue flirting with dung beetles and desert maggots—the first piece of real protein he had in days! But no, the vultures were waiting for him to throw his last breath so they could split his innards in two! And all of the water...gone. What else can —then David hid under a thorny bush only to squirm and see if Saul's goonies were after him again. Nope, looks like they took a bathroom break. More than enough time to run.
David made it, even though he wanted to die in that instant. Little did he know...
They all looked at him with a piercing need in their eyes. They were going through the same things David went through at the same time. And in David, something triggered his broken heart: the heart of the pastor was mixed with the courage of the lion's cubs.
They all raised their hands and bowed down...