Christian Foundations

DEVOTIONAL ARCHIVE

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May 22, 2008

CAVE DWELLERS
by Charles R. Swindoll

Read 1 Samuel 22:3--23; Psalm 34

Now look at Psalm 34, which I believe is the third psalm he wrote while in the cave. What a difference. What a change has come over David! He says, "I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth" (v. 1).

Later we learn that David's men became acutely able with the sword and spear and with the bow and arrow. Obviously, they had training practices. They learned how to get their act together in battle. They developed discipline in the ranks. They might have been mavericks, but they are on the way to becoming skilled hunters and courageous fighters.

So David, seeing his men marching in step and using the sword and the spear and the bow with skill, says to them, "Magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together." He's putting their eyes on the Lord. "I sought the LORD, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears."

To the distressed among the group he says, "O taste and see that the LORD is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!"

To those in debt he says, "O fear the LORD, you His saints; for to those who fear Him there is no want."

To the discontented he says, "The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; but they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing."

And finally, he gives sort of a wrap-up lesson to the entire group: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous [dark and lonely are the caves of the righteous], but the LORD delivers him out of them all."

You may be living in an emotional cave, where it is dark and dismal, damp and disillusioning. Perhaps the hardest part of all is that you cannot declare the truth to anybody else because you feel so desperate . . . so alone.

I tire of hearing that the Christian life is just one silver-lined cloud after another---we're always soaring. Not so! Sometimes the Christian life includes a deep, dark cave.

Why not share David's shelter? We know Him today by another name: Jesus. He's still available, even to cave dwellers and lonely people needing someone to care.

Reprinted by permission. Day by Day, Charles Swindoll, July 2005, Thomas Nelson, inc., Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved. Purchase "Day by Day" here.