When I am afraid, You, Lord, know the way out. In the path where I walk, a trap is hidden for me. Look around me and see. No one cares about me. I have no place of safety. No one cares if I live. (Verses 3-4)
David writes this psalm from the cave at Adullam, a desert place halfway between the cities of Gath and Bethlehem. He was there in an effort to escape King Saul whose jealousy toward David was epic. In his getaway, David stopped by the dwelling in Nob of Ahimelech, the priest, where David was given holy bread from the altar and the sword of Goliath. With these, David ran to Gath to Achish, its king. In the palace of that great king, David heard the servants making fun of him. "Isn't this the mighty David, anointed king of Israel. The one everyone sang and danced around saying, 'Saul has killed his thousands and David his ten thousands'?" Ashamed and embarrassed, David's fear of the king made him further humiliate himself by pretending to be a crazy man, drooling down his beard and writing incomprehensible things on the city gates. Achish was angry with his men for even allowing a madman into the courts. David escaped and ran. To the cave. Alone.
We don't have to wonder what he was thinking there as he lodged like a trapped animal in the dank darkness of his isolation. It had to be confusing to be anointed to be king while a king still ruled over Israel. To know God's will for his life was to take Saul's place, yet Saul is still on the throne. David's life seemed to be going nowhere fast. Claustrophobic in the caverns, agoraphobic about leaving it, David sat and prayed. Not a flowery assertion of his great faith in his God, but a sincere What the heck am I doing here and how will I ever get out kind of conversation with the Lord. And in the moment, David was right. Add to that no one knew where he was. It was dark, dark, dark.
David didn't just need a way out of the cave, he needed a way out of his situation. The call of God on his life looked diametrically opposed to the situation in which he found himself. He was out of energy and hopelessly alone. No vision for what was next for him. Only the certain hope that God knows the way out of not only the cave but the circumstances. We don't know how long David hid there. But God was busy working things out. First, somehow his father and brothers found out where he was. And his mother. If there was ever a time when he needed his mom, it was then. They came to him. I'm sure mom had a basket of her best biscuits, though the Bible doesn't say that. But another interesting thing happened that changed David's path forever. All the other down-and-outers in the area went to be with David in his cave. Those who had debts they couldn't pay, men whose lives had turned them bitter, men in great distress. Four hundred of them! In short, an army of misfits who needed a leader. Who better to take on the job than the would-be king without a throne? They respected David's situation. Related to his humiliation. It's not until David had his mom and dad safely in the hands of the king of Moab that a priest from Gad told David to leave the cave and go to Judah. While David sat and waited on God, God put together an army of unlikely men whose loyalty to and love for David changed the course of his life. They weren't the cream of the Judah crop. But God hand-picked each one of them to be honored alongside their future king.
I don't think I go too far today to say some of us have drooled down our chins and acted like crazies because we had no idea what God was doing and we were afraid. We'd lost our way and did things we never thought we'd catch ourselves doing. If we are blessed, our Father puts us in a cave for a little while. Some quiet time. Introspection and prayer is a good way to wait out the confusion life becomes for us sometimes. Stop acting out. Stop trying to fix it all. Stop trying to figure out what God is doing in our lives. Sit in the darkness, let it surround us, and wait for the light. David's path came right up to the door of the cave. Fetched him. Gave him new direction with new friends who would become David's Mighty Men. I'm absolutely positive it didn't look anything like David thought it would! We can pretty much expect God to work in unexpected ways. But, God already knew what He was going to do. Hadn't He been the One to tell Samuel to anoint the ruddy teenager as Saul's replacement? What God ordains, He sustains. Sometimes He must wait out our crazy, though.
David writes this psalm from the cave at Adullam, a desert place halfway between the cities of Gath and Bethlehem. He was there in an effort to escape King Saul whose jealousy toward David was epic. In his getaway, David stopped by the dwelling in Nob of Ahimelech, the priest, where David was given holy bread from the altar and the sword of Goliath. With these, David ran to Gath to Achish, its king. In the palace of that great king, David heard the servants making fun of him. "Isn't this the mighty David, anointed king of Israel. The one everyone sang and danced around saying, 'Saul has killed his thousands and David his ten thousands'?" Ashamed and embarrassed, David's fear of the king made him further humiliate himself by pretending to be a crazy man, drooling down his beard and writing incomprehensible things on the city gates. Achish was angry with his men for even allowing a madman into the courts. David escaped and ran. To the cave. Alone.
We don't have to wonder what he was thinking there as he lodged like a trapped animal in the dank darkness of his isolation. It had to be confusing to be anointed to be king while a king still ruled over Israel. To know God's will for his life was to take Saul's place, yet Saul is still on the throne. David's life seemed to be going nowhere fast. Claustrophobic in the caverns, agoraphobic about leaving it, David sat and prayed. Not a flowery assertion of his great faith in his God, but a sincere What the heck am I doing here and how will I ever get out kind of conversation with the Lord. And in the moment, David was right. Add to that no one knew where he was. It was dark, dark, dark.
David didn't just need a way out of the cave, he needed a way out of his situation. The call of God on his life looked diametrically opposed to the situation in which he found himself. He was out of energy and hopelessly alone. No vision for what was next for him. Only the certain hope that God knows the way out of not only the cave but the circumstances. We don't know how long David hid there. But God was busy working things out. First, somehow his father and brothers found out where he was. And his mother. If there was ever a time when he needed his mom, it was then. They came to him. I'm sure mom had a basket of her best biscuits, though the Bible doesn't say that. But another interesting thing happened that changed David's path forever. All the other down-and-outers in the area went to be with David in his cave. Those who had debts they couldn't pay, men whose lives had turned them bitter, men in great distress. Four hundred of them! In short, an army of misfits who needed a leader. Who better to take on the job than the would-be king without a throne? They respected David's situation. Related to his humiliation. It's not until David had his mom and dad safely in the hands of the king of Moab that a priest from Gad told David to leave the cave and go to Judah. While David sat and waited on God, God put together an army of unlikely men whose loyalty to and love for David changed the course of his life. They weren't the cream of the Judah crop. But God hand-picked each one of them to be honored alongside their future king.
I don't think I go too far today to say some of us have drooled down our chins and acted like crazies because we had no idea what God was doing and we were afraid. We'd lost our way and did things we never thought we'd catch ourselves doing. If we are blessed, our Father puts us in a cave for a little while. Some quiet time. Introspection and prayer is a good way to wait out the confusion life becomes for us sometimes. Stop acting out. Stop trying to fix it all. Stop trying to figure out what God is doing in our lives. Sit in the darkness, let it surround us, and wait for the light. David's path came right up to the door of the cave. Fetched him. Gave him new direction with new friends who would become David's Mighty Men. I'm absolutely positive it didn't look anything like David thought it would! We can pretty much expect God to work in unexpected ways. But, God already knew what He was going to do. Hadn't He been the One to tell Samuel to anoint the ruddy teenager as Saul's replacement? What God ordains, He sustains. Sometimes He must wait out our crazy, though.
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