I Chronicles 12:18 Then David received them and made them captains of the band.
Have you ever been extremely lonely? I don’t know if you have, but David knew that depths of loneliness. He was lonely because he couldn’t afford Saul’s company. Saul and his host had pursued David to kill him, and David simply could not company with them! But, as David continued doing the right thing, he started to gather the right people around him.
In other words, David was not yet king. He did not have an official title, though he had been anointed by God to be the king in due time. Yet, David served and was an example even though he had no position in government.
What you find in chapters 11 and 12 is this groundswell of support from those attracted to David. I Chronicles 12:1 says, “Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag.”
In the following verses you find an account of all these tribes from all over the nation who gathered themselves to David. You learn here that if you do the right thing, you will attract the right people. Instead of worrying about getting friends, why don’t you worry about doing right which will bring the right friends? You say, “But if I do the right thing, I will lose friends.” That is exactly right, and though David attracted the right people he also had to lose some people.
For instance, David could have killed Saul on a couple of occasions. Some of his men said, “David, this is the day God told you about. Why don’t you kill Saul now while you have the chance?” David said, “I am not going to touch God’s anointed.” David understood authority. A good thing at the wrong time or in the wrong way is not a good thing. God had ordained David to be king, but only in the right way and in God’s own time.
Later, when Saul had been killed, a messenger came and claimed that he had killed Saul, though he had not, David severely judged him. In other words, David did the right thing. He lost some people along the way, but he gathered people.
David wasn’t perfect and neither were these mighty men, but the men that came did two things. They gave him support. The Bible says they were “of one heart.” And these people also gave David skills. Many of those who joined could do things that David could not do. They had abilities David did not have and thereby they strengthened David by joining him. Consider your own community, your work, your church, and the people with whom you hang out. Do the right thing and you will attract the right people.
If you are lonely today, then even the odds by doing the right thing and gathering the right people about you. Do the right thing and you will find yourself in common cause with others who want to honor God and live lives of conviction.