The play temporarily stops…  a substitute is made… You find yourself in the precarious position of taking a place that was once filled. It’s a new environment. It’s a new team. The excitement wanes… you start trying to figure every one out. You see, the Coach only told you your part in the game; figuring everyone out, trying to get the game going, was really not part of the brief.

You see, life will throw us into encounters with new people; and pose us the challenge of figuring out how to Make the Team. It’s at this point that our minds are thrown into our ‘locker room’ experiences – the place where we might have had a marriage of values, developed a oneness of spirit, and had clarity of vision. The place where we learnt a little about the other people, and gave us insight into who they really were.

I Samuel 22:1-2 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 leader.

David found himself being part of a team of people with whom he had a common thread – they were in distress, and at a low point of their lives. There’s something about trouble, nothingness, distress. It creates a deep bond between people.

David was not only in distress at this time, but he had experienced nothingness during his shepherding days, and had had a taste of rejection. He knew only too well what these people were going through. There’s nothing like experience, to teach one empathy.

1 Samuel 22:4 So he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him as long as David was in the stronghold.

Much as David was in this low moment, he had the benefit of experiencing better days – he had killed Goliath and risen to fame, he had had a brief moment of favour with King Saul, he had lived within the palace – and had a knowing that there was more to him than the present situation.

There’s nothing like a leader who sees you beyond your present circumstances, is able to tap into the greatness embedded inside of you, and then draw out the fullness of your expression. David’s experiences made him a perfect fit – not only to empathise – but also to lift the people with him.

1 Samuel 22:5 But the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah.”

But yet there’s a danger of becoming familiar with the low moments, with our common problems, and refusing to get out of our circumstances. The prophet Gad helped David and his men not to set up camp in their place of hiding – and to keep moving to their place of Destiny.

The interesting thing about David is that he seemed to attract the wounded; only thing is, they never remained wounded. Something about him offered a place of refuge, a place of safety, a place of healing – for the people around him.

1 Samuel 22:23 “Stay with me; don’t be afraid; the man who is seeking your life is seeking mine also. You will be safe with me.”

While David himself was fighting for his own life, he cared enough to stop, offer hope, and breathe life to those he encountered.

Maybe that’s the whole point of Making the Team; it’s about drawing from our experiences to make others’ lives better, it’s about breathing life into others and watching them become better versions of themselves, it’s about temporarily forgetting our pain and becoming a blessing to others.

Like David, we will get hurt in the game of life, but yet for us to Get Back in the Game and live our purpose as Playmakers, we must play our part in getting the best out of the rest – for the sake of the greater good of the Teams we have been assigned to.

And while we are at it, we must keep the Play On.

Bon Voyage.