Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Have you had a bad week? More than likely it’s not worse than the week David was having in 1 Samuel 30. He and his men returned to find that the Amalekites had raided their base, destroying everything with fire and kidnapping their wives and children. Scripture says they “wept until they had no more strength to weep”. If you’ve ever experienced that, you know the depths of that kind of despair. To top it off, instead of a motivational pep talk or group prayer to lift David’s spirits, his men turned on him. Blaming him in their blind frustration, they suggested stoning him! Wow! Your week is sounding much better, right? 

David, however, doesn’t in turn get angry at God. Instead He clings to Him and consults Him on what to do. When the Lord directs Him to pursue and take back what was stolen, David obediently follows. Two hundred of the men in his party, however, were battle worn. They couldn’t go on another mission. Instead they stayed and sent the others on, maintaining a presence at home in order to keep it safe for when the remainder of the men returned and allow them to travel lighter.

“Staying with the stuff” isn’t the most glamorous line on a resume, and I assume the case was the same back then. What the battling men were doing seemed so much more exciting and important. When the fighting men returned from recovering what was theirs, they seemed to share the same opinion. In verses 22-25 it says, 

“But all the evil men and troublemakers among David’s followers said, “Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and go.”

David replied, “No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us. Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.” David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this.”

Wow. The man after God’s own heart made it clear that both those who went and those who stayed with the supplies were to get an equal share. And this was not just a one time offer, as scripture says it became ordinance from that day to this. So what does staying with the supplies look like today?

Supplies on the B4T mission field are personnel, finances, training, counseling, pastoral care, prayer, and much more. Those who handle the supplies- while they may not be stationed in a least reached area doing the day to day work of the gospel- are taking an equal share in what the Kingdom of Heaven is accomplishing. I think of rock climbing. There is always one person actively climbing while the other person is belaying on the ground. Without that person on the ground, the person climbing would be without stability, safety, or support. 

Are you called to stay with the supplies? Mandate has several stateside opportunities to work remotely in supporting the least reached overseas. Do you want to train and recruit those B4T workers who are called to go? Do you have a knack for social media or digital marketing? Do you have experience bookkeeping? Have you been a fundraising guru in your professional past? These are all skills you can volunteer as a way to support the efforts of those “on the ground” in a way that is invaluable and just as crucial as the work being done in country. If this is sparking a desire in your heart, reach out to us today through www.gomandate.org/contact and find the perfect spot to serve.