SONGS FROM A CAVE MAN
PSALM 57:1 & 7 NKJV
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!
For my soul trusts in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge,
Until these calamities have passed by.
7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and give praise.
Yeah, I know. I just put out some devotional clickbait with this title. But David did write this Psalm from a cave.
When David escaped from Achish, the King of Gath, see yesterday's devotional, he escaped to the cave of Adullam. Evidently, this was a well-known cave. But it was still a cave, not the choicest of dwellings. You could get this place pretty cheaply on Airbnb.
In this cave, we see David pour out his heart to God. He is asking for God's mercy and declaring his trust in God. David is looking to God as his safe place, his refuge until the troubles that have come his way pass by.
In verse seven, David once again declares that his heart is steady. Even though he has experienced more than his share of trouble, David declares that he will sing and give praise.
David does not deny the challenges he faced. Nor does he act as if he is not affected. But David almost always gets to a good place. David is one of those people who has his but in the right place—but spelled b, u, t. David says Lord, I am facing troubles, but. But I will trust You and praise You. Way too often, we see people who say, Lord, I trust You, but these problems are too much.
We could all take a lesson from David. He faced life-threatening situations, depressing circumstances, and dream-crushing pressure but. But he always comes back to God as his source, his strength, his safe place.
APPLICATION:
One of my goals is to learn to talk and trust as David did. To not only express my problems to the Lord but also to express my trust and my praise. I want to be one who winds up in a good place.
We all experience the "caves" of life. Dark places that are not comfortable. But the key is being in the cave without the cave being in us.
PRAYER:
Lord, You are my safe place and where I go when things are dark. Thank You for Your mercy. I will stay close to You until these calamities have passed by.