Cave Dwellers!

"David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam:

and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it,

they went down thither to him.
And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men. "

1 Samuel 22:1-2

If you have EVER felt the thrill of that desire to make an impact

on the world beyond your fingertips.

If you have EVER known you were made to yes,

serve your family, file the papers, input the data, ring up the next sale, prepare the next Quarterly Reports, schedule and attend and snooze through, I mean diligently participate in the next staff meeting.

Or, maybe your day to day is more like lessons plans, homework assignments, soccer practice, mermaid class, music practice, etc.

If you have ever felt that these things were just the beginning,

not the END, not the WHOLE JOURNEY.

That what you would ultimately accomplish, would be something of a profound,

and lasting value. That you would leave a deep and wide impact,

with bold outlines and clear definitive boundaries.

If you ever thought that wonderful divine appointment with destiny was to begin, like NEXT week, or maybe even NEXT month or NEXT year.

This one's for you! ; )

I was recently (see Saturday's Post) driving home and thinking about my faith and how I want to serve God to the best of my ability. To complete all of my Heavenly "to-do" list.

And how that desire, that journey has evolved for me over the years.

For my husband and myself, we are ALMOST done raising children.

While we will NEVER be through being parents,

and one day we hope to be grandparents,

our role, our responsibilities will be changed.

I remember when I realized that I was living Life in The Cave, much like David,

(probably my favorite OT person).

By the time I realized that was what was going on,

I had already made peace with it,

I had already come to the place of knowing that the boundary lines of life,

they WERE good, and they were FOR my good.

"The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; yes, I have a good heritage. I will bless the Lord, Who has given me counsel; yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons."

Psalms 16:6-7

What does that mean?

Well, David was anointed by Samuel to replace Saul as King,

at the divine direction of no less than God!

But, things got much, much more challenging for David,

for many years before that happened.

That often happens in our faith walk.

We get the great promise, then we are highed off to the potters wheel, the kiln,

the prison (remember Joseph!) or The Cave!

But, at least in my life, and in David's life, I can see the benefit and

I am grateful and expectant.

I have learned to not "despise the day of small beginnings".

I sense that there is enough greatness in living a quiet life,

raising my children, helping them,

and NOT helping when I need to stay out of it! :)

Helping my husband.

Being available to various friends and family members in different seasons of life.

While all these things are lacking in worldy acclaim, in flash and pizazz,

they are wonderfully fulfilling and they are great training ground

for whatever the future holds.

There was a day early in my faith walk where I was so excited,

and just knew I would help lots and lots of people,

I had no clue HOW, of course, just knew that I must!

My heart was full of enthusiasm!

My head positively swimming with ideas of HOW!

Time fails us to discuss how I went from almost a hero to a zero in short order.

Through not fault of my own.

God just worked through ordinary occurrences in life, to protect me,

from getting too far ahead of Him, in my zeal to serve Him!

Looking back I can see a trail of scales He has peeled off my dragon heart!

It was a real good thing He intervened.

But, it felt like betrayal from friends, misunderstanding from others,

unfairness, watching others live out my previous and presumed future roles.

It felt like failure. Like someone had changed the rules to every part of life

and forgotten to clue me in.

Like being naked and exposed,

in front of all the people I was in any sort of connection to,

because one thing never changes, people will talk!

My saving grace through it all, is the tougher it got, the more I clung to Him.

One day rolled into one week, rolled into years,

until I really WAS happy and content,

with what used to feel like a small, tight space.

As soon as I made peace and became content and unashamed

of the place He had for me,

He made it broader, and then

He made it broader again.

That's what happend for David, though on a much more profound manner.

Let's look at what David's life was like in that cave.

First of all, that word

CAVE - it means dark cavern, or hole, and to be bare or naked.

Wow.

Being naked, exposed, and in a dark hole in the earth. Doesn't sound very pleasant.

But, the good thing about it, is God protects you there.

Prepares you there, and provides for you there!

Look at the people that God began to bring to David:

Those in distress: meaning in a tight place, compressed, and oppressed.

Those in debt: meaning to be lead astray, to be seduced, to beguile,

to lend with interest, to impose on.

The discontented: this is really good too, the bitter, chafed, heavy,

breathing with lust or passion. (Can you say all hot and bothered?)

These people became known as David's Mighty Men!

David had previously cut his leadership teeth on sheep, then he graduated to these men and their families. The whole time he was responsible for his family (a lesson to us all),

because they were in danger because of him.

God trusted David with these people who were deceived,

oppressed, heavy with burdens, bitter, and lustily passionately angry, during his time

in The Cave.

Look around you. These are your people to care for, they need you!

They NEED the gift of God in YOU!

Eventually they left the cave, and went on to the forest.

And I really hope to be able to post about that sometime in the future.

But, it's a picture of the gradual expansion

of our territories as we grow in the Lord.

Just remember that Life in the Cave is for our good! For our protection, for our preparation. NOT our punishment!

And it looks a whole lot better as you look beyond it, to the future, and don't dwell on the smallness - look beyond.

See, compare the view from looking inward (the view in the picture at the top)

to looking outward here: