-In the Cave of Adullam-

I cry out to the Lord; I plead for the Lord’s mercy. I pour out my complaints before him and tell him all my troubles.

When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn. Wherever I go, my enemies have set traps for me.

Then I pray to you, O Lord. I say, “You are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭142:1-3, 5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The opening verse is a prayer David wrote while hiding out in a cave. DAVID had been through a lot. From defeating Goliath, the jealousy it attracted from the king, repeated attempts on his life and danger from the Philistines.

His struggles seem to have no end. He had nowhere to go and with a heavy heart, retreated to a cave called Adullam. Adullam means refuge. DAVID sought refuge. The challenges of life had forced him into a corner. And in that moment of despair and pain, He cried out to the Lord for help.

I think of the cave of Adullam and ponder on how many times we have been forced to seek refuge. How often we may have cried for relief, praying frantically to see an end to our troubles. or the periods we have cried ’Oh God help me!

There is something we may be overlooking, the God-factor! It was God who anointed David from the onset. He knew it won’t be a straightforward journey. God knows you would have challenges on the path He had called you to. He knows life would come at you hard and try to break you. So He had sent us forth with a promise. The promise of safety whenever we turn to Him.

You do not have control over the situation but the Father does. And if we can come to Him, in our pain, defeat, failure, sorrow, hurt, He would be our comfort and shelter.

It could be hard walking through the fog of discouragement that may have clouded your eyes and stolen your joy but this is why we have the Holy Spirit. You do not need to struggle to be free or wander around in hopelessness, Only surrender and allow Him to be your haven. Allow Him be the Shepherd. Jesus hurts when we hurt. He weeps when we cry. Our pain tears at His heart. And He bids us come.

Note, while in the cave, two set of people came to meet David.

His family – he had had issues with his brothers and Father in the past. but Reconciliation happened at the cave.

The other set was everyone who was in distress, in debt and was discontented.

These were the most unlikely people David could have ever had around hIm. Humanly speaking. what relief could their presence have brought him?

Nevertheless, God raised them to come to him, to train David as a leader because though the future looked bleak to David yet the calling of God upon his life was still potent. And by the power of his calling, David could lead even in his pain. He could encourage in his downtime.

You see, once David ascended the throne, people flocked to him, everyone wanted to be a part of his success story. But these 400men were unique. They saw David at his lowest moment, in the cave of Adullam. He acquired loyal followers in the cave of Adullam.

There is purpose in pain. Though we live in a fallen world with satan as the god and We may not understand why God allow certain things to happen, But one thing we are confident in, is, He turns every situation to work in our favour.

Today, even as we cry out to Him, He would send help to us. He would open our eyes to see the message in the mess, to spot the fortune in famine. God will meet you in your desolate places. His love and faithfulness would guide us.

Let your heart be strong in the Father. Praise Him even in your distress. The strength you need would come from within you not from your circumstances. For in His promises we would be confident!

“Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.””
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭31:8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43:2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭1:9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Stay Blessed

You are Loved💚💙💛

Angel