Mike Walker Creative

One of my favorite people in the bible is David. His journey is such a roller coaster from a shepherd boy in the fields (also the youngest of all his brothers), to slaying a giant, to being in the kings court as a musician, to being run out of the city and chased by King Saul after having done nothing but serve the king faithfully, to hiding in the wilderness and in caves, to eventually becoming King….lots of ups and downs for sure.

To me one of the most fascinating times in Davids life is his time in the cave. A lot of his character was challenged and shaped while in the cave. I would imagine that his belief system was challenged as was his character. I’m sure it wasn’t one of the highest points in his life after having been a celebrated warrior and living in the palace to be forced to live on the run and live in caves.

He could have been angry and bitter, but instead he chose to embrace his time in the cave. He allowed that time to influence his character for the better….even though several people around him wanted him to compromise (and I would imagine at times he also wanted to compromise) he never wavered.

I believe that David’s time in the cave is what gave him his final preparation he needed to handle his duties as a future king. David needed that experience and time to prepare him for what was coming next.

It’s almost like the military that puts new recruits through boot camp. One of my good friends is a former marine who often recounts boot camp as the toughest time he encountered in the military and has been through combat situations. To hear him describe it, boot camp exists to prepare you for the next situations you will face later….almost like the cave was for David.

The past couple of years have been some crazy ups and downs. Without going in to details, I have had to learn to embrace my time “in the cave”. It’s been an exciting, but at times very challenging season, but what I am learning that by embracing the time in the cave life my life has been blessed ten fold.

The cave looks different for everyone. For some it can be in business, the economy, family, relationships, etc…the truth is though that at some point we will all go through our version of the cave. Take time to embrace the cave and allow it to be a building time…you never know what your time in the cave is preparing you for in your future.