What David Wrote Desperate in The Cave of Adullam

David sat desperate in the cave of Adullam.

Saul was after him again. And his men were bearing down on him.

If this wasn’t enough, David’s family decided it was a good idea to find him and stay, as well.

So David sits in harm’s way… And now so does his family!

Then comes the icing on the proverbial cake…

Let’s read today’s devotional Bible verse to see what happened next:

And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him about four hundred men.

1 Samuel 22:2 ESV

David becomes the leader of a rag-tag group of 400 filled with:

• The distressed,
• The hopelessly in debt,
• And the bitter in soul.

Not exactly the dream team when a powerful king is after you…

So what does he do?

David Runs From the Cave of Adullam, Then Says This…

First, he doesn’t wallow in self-pity. And he doesn’t lash out at the people who’ve flocked to him.

He goes to the king of a place called Mizpeh of Moab. And asks the king: “Please let my father and my mother stay with you, till I know what God will do for me” (1 Samuel 22:3).

What incredible faith in that statement.

We know David is a man with a heart of worship. But now we see that in his desperate time of need, he’s also a man of great trust in God.

He doesn’t crumple up into a ball of self-pity. Or fall headlong into a pit of despair.

David leaves the cave of Adullam with his 400 problem-plagued soldiers… With his family in imminent danger… With a bloodthirsty king at his heels…

…and in effect, says, “I know God is going to deliver me, I’m just waiting a bit learn how…”

And do you know what else?

David had just written Psalm 34, where verse 8 reads:

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”

When David needed refuge most, he turned to God.

The question today is, where do you turn?

Devotion by Jordan Loftis. Jordan is the editor of Short Daily Devotions and the author of The Men With Bare Feet: Discovering Intimacy With God Through Moses, Joshua, and Jesus.