We know from 26:24 that David wasn't focused on the expectations of others or the image he should uphold as a future king. He was solely focused on his God. "May God honor my life and rescue me from all trouble." This singular perspective did not mean that David would experience the expected life of a king any time soon. No comfortable, spacious palace; no lavish meals served on the finest wares; no royal bed to rest in every night. Not yet. David's reality was far from the prospects of a king.
I run to you, God; I run for dear life. Don't let me down! Take me seriously this time! Get down on my level and listen, and please - no procrastination! Your granite cave a hiding place, your high cliff aerie a place of safety.
You're my cave to hide in, my cliff to climb. Be my safe leader, be my true mountain guide. Free me from hidden traps; I want to hide in you. I've put my life in your hands. You won't drop me, you'll never let me down. (Psalm 31:1-5)The psalms help me understand that although David kept his eyes on God, he didn't deny the difficulties of his circumstances. He wasn't trying to be more positive or put a pollyanna spin on his situation. He held the promises of God in tension with the reality of living in caves.
For the follower of Christ, it is similar. I know God's promises of hope, joy, and peace but I also live in the disappointments of broken relationships, failed dreams, and false expectations. If I choose to live as Christ in the midst of this God-given life, then I will feel the uncomfortable tension. If I choose to live in busyness and escape, then I can feel the temporary, cheap release or feel nothing at all. God, help me to seek the refuge of your cave and not build a fortress of my own doing.
Cave of Adullam
Speak to me, speak to me in my cave of Adullam.
Reach to me, reach to me.
No one cares for my soul.
I thought I saw your kingdom,
but it's not going to happen like I thought it would happen.
Remind me, remind me of the vision you gave me.
Remind me, remind me what anointing oil is for.
I need to know you're near me.
I need to know you are holding me just as closely
as the day you took my life and gave me a vision,
as the day you poured the oil and gave me a dream.
I can't believe this is happening.
How does a shepherd become a king?
[Sara Groves]
2 comments:
Yes! I forgot to turn to read psalms alongside reading about David. I remember when I first read 1 samuel and read psalms, it just made more sense why He was learning and growing closer to God. He was running to Him, with all of how he was feeling, all of what he was thinking, the hurt, the abandonment, the suffering, the bad and the good. It's a reminder that our Father is always delighted in us and always FOR us. Psalm 37 is a true blessing to me now. Especially verses 3-5. and 39-40. Thanks God for sharing David's faithfulness and his love for you with us in Your word. Thank You for Your Word! Let it continue to stir up our hearts :) Let me run to You and let You fill me and guard my heart. Phil 4:6-7.
Psalm 37
A David Psalm
1-2 Don't bother your head with braggarts or wish you could succeed like the wicked.
In no time they'll shrivel like grass clippings
and wilt like cut flowers in the sun.
3-4 Get insurance with God and do a good deed,
settle down and stick to your last.
Keep company with God,
get in on the best.
5-6 Open up before God, keep nothing back;
he'll do whatever needs to be done:
He'll validate your life in the clear light of day
and stamp you with approval at high noon.
7 Quiet down before God,
be prayerful before him.
Don't bother with those who climb the ladder,
who elbow their way to the top.
.....
32-33 Wicked sets a watch for Righteous,
he's out for the kill.
God, alert, is also on watch—
Wicked won't hurt a hair of his head.
34 Wait passionately for God,
don't leave the path.
He'll give you your place in the sun
while you watch the wicked lose it.
35-36 I saw Wicked bloated like a toad,
croaking pretentious nonsense.
The next time I looked there was nothing—
a punctured bladder, vapid and limp.
37-38 Keep your eye on the healthy soul,
scrutinize the straight life;
There's a future
in strenuous wholeness.
But the willful will soon be discarded;
insolent souls are on a dead-end street.
39-40 The spacious, free life is from God,
it's also protected and safe.
God-strengthened, we're delivered from evil—
when we run to him, he saves us.
also reminds me in the midst of my battle with being led by my emotions, that in this journey, my emotions are valid. i feel them for a reason. but its what i do with them that makes all the difference. committed to desire and pray and take steps to commit them to my Lord first and let Him lead me...
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