Hiding In A Cave

I love reading stories and then trying to imagine what the characters must have felt in various situations. One such story takes place in the Old Testament book of I Samuel 22 when King Saul was searching for David. The king vowed to find and kill David; therefore, David and a band of his loyal followers were on the run. They were hiding in a cave.

In this particular story, with David deep inside a cave, King Saul himself suddenly enters. Imagine what David and his men must have felt! The man vowing to kill them is right there in the cave! Saul had just stepped in to relieve the call of nature. He didn’t know David was near. David saw the king. He could have stepped forward and even killed the king. His men encouraged him to do so, but David said emphatically he would not touch what God would take care of Himself. Is there something we can apply to our own lives in this story? Oh, yes!

You see, often you and I find ourselves in caves. It could be a cave of uncertainty or a cave of grief and sorrow or a cave of feelings of inadequacy. There are all sorts of caves that pull us in during moments of life’s anguishes. When we are hiding there we can see fear enter the cave. Perhaps even terror enters. Maybe it’s rejection that comes unwanted into the cave of our despondency. It happens to us all. What can we do?

We can learn from David and choose, in our Father’s presence, to be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10 KJV). We can attempt to slay fear in our own strength, but we will not win. We may feel better for a time but fear will grow and choke out our peace once more. Only God is strong enough to slay fear entering the cave of our weaknesses. Only God can soothe our grief like no other. Only God can bring quiet joy in the midst of any storm. Only God can enter our mind’s caves, take us into His arms, and in His powerful love bring us out into the openness of peace where every fear has been slain.

When we try in our strength alone, our “feeling better” is a temporary measure. When we wait for our Father to act on our behalf, all enemies that plague our peace, melts away into the joy of the Lord Who is forever our strength (Nehemiah 8:10).