"Not everybody in this world will appreciate you (for who you are and what you do), but there will always be some who will appreciate you (for who you are and what you do)."
I then heard further:
"Give your very best to those who accept and appreciate you. Like David and those who were in the cave of Adullam, and how he turned them into great, mighty men of God!"
As a matter of fact, whether you are a minister of God, or you are in any vocation on earth, there are bound to be people who will not appreciate you (for who you are and what you do). But take heart, because the Lord your God sees your heart, He knows exactly how to raise up people who will accept and appreciate you! You can see the same in David's life, in Paul's ministry, and even Jesus Himself prepared His disciples likewise when He sent them out for the harvest!
David
Though David served Saul with all his heart and did many great things for him, Saul did not appreciate him. In fact, Saul was jealous of him, and wanted to kill him! David had to flee, and he ended up in the cave of Adullam.
1 Samuel 22:1-2 says, 'David therefore departed and escaped to the cave of Adullam. So when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented (bitter of soul) gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him'.
In actual fact, these people didn't look promising at all, but the Lord used David to raise them up to be great, mighty warriors!
You can see that in 2 Samuel 23:8-39! Here are some of them:
Josheb-Basshebeth - chief among the captains, he killed 800 men at one time!
Eleazar - he fought the enemy till his hand was weary, and his hand stuck to the sword!
Shammah - when others fled, he stood his ground in the middle of the field!
Abishai - he lifted his spear against 300 men and killed them!
Benaiah - he killed two lion-like heroes of Moab and killed a lion inside a pit!
Paul
Though Paul was sent out by the Lord for his missionary journeys, there were some along the way who did not appreciate his teachings.
Acts 19:8-10 says, 'And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks'.
Tyrannus was open-minded in allowing Paul to use his school's facility. 'Tyrannus' in this context represents 'those who appreciated Paul's teachings'.
The disciples of Jesus
Luke 10:1-3 says, 'After this (i.e. talking about the cost of discipleship) the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of Him, two by two, into every town and place where He Himself was about to go. And He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves."'
In Luke 10:4-7, Jesus said, "Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house!' And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages..."
The Hebrew/Aramaic expression 'son of peace' here speaks of 'those who receive and appreciate you'. In other words, those who show peace to you, and those who accept and appreciate you (for who you are and what you do).
Therefore, people of God, whether you are in David's situation, Paul's situation, or as disciples of Jesus, you can be sure there will be the cave of Adullam, the school of Tyrannus, or the 'sons of peace' being prepared and readied for you! Give your very best to those who accept and appreciate you, and let the Lord use you to turn their lives around for His glory!
