ICS Daily Devotions
Seek God in the Cave

1 Samuel 22:1-3 (NKJV) David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. So when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him. Then David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother come here with you, till I know what God will do for me.”

Have you ever felt like David who was alone in the “cold, dark and moist cave of Adullam” though not literally?

Perhaps you went from a corporate person to being a stay-at-home mum all of a sudden, and you find yourself all alone at home when the children are at school, or you thought you would be married by now, but you are not, and you feel that you are in your “cave of Adullam”.

It is easy to survive in an environment when everything is going well, but it is a different story when we are alone in the “cave of Adullam” in life. The good news is that if you can survive your “cave of Adullam’ experience, you will be able to survive every situation that you will ever face in life. However, only if you learn how to have a breakthrough in your “cave of Adullam” experience, will you be able to help others, including your children, when they are faced with a similar situation.

Despite being hunted, persecuted by King Saul and hiding in the cave. David’s mind wasn’t preoccupied with how to take revenge on King Saul. He wasn’t even concerned about how he was going to ascend to the throne from the cave of Adullam, or how his career path would turn out.

In fact, while he was hiding in the cave, he didn’t even know whether King Saul had already killed his family in Bethlehem. After being assaulted by King Saul, he escaped alone to the cave of Adullam, which was near to the Philistine’s camp. In fact, the close location might have been a deterrent for Saul to pursue him in case he ran into an unnecessary battle with the Philistines. There was no other place for David to go except this cave where he could take time to process everything and seek the Lord. In fact, David’s time in the cave taught him how to tackle the darkest and most difficult time of his life later on.

David was accompanied by 400 other men who were in debt, distressed and discontented, also going through their own “cave of Adullam”. David would not have been able to lead these men unless he was able to have a breakthrough from his “cave of Adullam” experience himself!

Sermon Series: Handling Stress- The Cave of Adullam