“Then I pray to you, O Lord. I say, “You are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life. Hear my cry, for I am very low. Rescue me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me. Bring me out of prison so I can thank you. The godly will crowd around me, for you are good to me.” Psalms 142:5-7 NLT
If anyone knows what it’s like to fall to the lowest depths of despair, it’s David in the Old Testament. From Giant Killer to traitor, he was hunted and running for his life. He spent years in hiding. This Psalm captures David’s prayer in the cave of Adullam. David was still pretty young, likely in his twenties, but he had assembled a small but powerful group of warriors, the Bible calls his mighty men. Oddly sad, Uriah the Hittite is recognized as one of those men. In an abrupt contrast of character, David later has Uriah murdered in an attempt to coverup his sexual assault on Bathsheba.
In these caves, David continues to write songs and poems of his experiences. Keep in mind that David had already been anointed by Samuel, chosen by God to be Israel’s second king. With that in mind, it’s hard to imagine the deep anguish as he tries to figure out how he ended up in that cave.
Yet, through the worst of that season David turns to God, lamenting, repenting, and confessing “you are all I really want in life!” Isn’t that how it is? When we are at our absolute lowest, we are emotionally and spiritually vulnerable, but very honest. These are the times we grow, not just in dependency on God, but also in a deep profound walk with God. Have you noticed that there are opportunities to change and mature, NOT when things are going well, but when everything seems to fall apart? Is this desperation a gift or a curse?
When I read the words David expressed to God, it makes me realize how trapped he must of felt. In an earlier verse he even writes, “my enemies have set traps for me.” He certainly could see no way out, no future, no path to God’s promise. But yet his hope was that God would bring him out of that circumstantial prison.
At some point, I believe that everyone goes through these dark places, blind to a possibility of being rescued. David held tightly to God and God’s mercy and goodness to make things right. If we could only see God in our own impossible situations, where darkness and voices of doom surround us. As a believer in Jesus, one who walks with God, that we could be confident in how good God is and have hope that He will free us from our own caves of Adullam.
Prayer
Dad,
Hope seems easy when everything is going well. It seems impossible when going through our own dark cave experiences. David’s psalms are encouraging to see that he was in a very real and dangerous dilemma, but that he was able to think and even write about this deep sense of confidence and hope. You not only saw his circumstances, but would liberate and restore him from that cave. I have had a few of those dark despairing moments and fought the fatal thoughts that I would not make it out. But your comfort and peace were also so tangible in those times as well. Thank you for holding me in hope as I waited for your rescue.