At this sight, the men’s hearts melted. Days before, they had been eager to engage in fierce battle, they were motivated to accomplish a great military feat, yet now, they are broken. David and six hundred battle-hardened men broke down and cried. They wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep (v4). The thought of their dear wives and children being overpowered while they were somewhere else and being manhandled like prisoners of war was too much for them. The tragedy and outrage were consuming. The men became bitter and began to scheme. It was their intention to stone David. Bitterness was the natural response of their fallen hearts to this calamity, as it is the natural response of your and my fallen hearts to calamity.

In this environment, having suffered the same loss as his men, and in addition, hearing his own men, with whom he had fought in battle, scheming to stone him, David had every negative influence in his life to respond in the same way (v6). As can be expected, David was greatly distressed. It is wise to stop at those words and to properly appreciate the situation he was in. As you consider a situation such as this that brought David to a state of great distress, consider a situation in your life that has brought you to great distress. In your great distress, how did you respond?

The words that follow in the text are some of the most encouraging words in Scripture. They are words that are heavily pregnant with potential for you and me today. They are words that give you hope that even in a situation that brings you into great distress, there is massive hope! And if there is massive hope in a situation that brings you into great distress, how much more hope is there in situations that bring you into lesser degrees of distress, like my comments on going out to my office on a cold morning?

The text wakes up a giant-sized hope! That word “but”, showing the dramatic contrast between the way in which David responded and the way in which his men responded, arrests your attention immediately. It shakes you awake to the fact that something different is happening here. Here is a man with a character seldom seen in this fallen world. Here is a man that responds to great distress in a way that I have not yet learned to respond. Here is a man who has resources to draw upon that I have not yet tapped into and developed the ability to use. Here comes something thrilling and wonderful. Here comes something from which I can learn and grow. Here comes something that will shove me back from the pit of despair every time something negative happens in my life, whether great or small. Here comes the opportunity to learn something about Christian character that will make me into a more useful, strong and Christlike person.