TIME IN THE CAVE.....

Hi folks, I was prompted to write this after reading an article about King David's time in his cave. It's the place we all need to go sometime when troubles pile up in our lives, when all our earthly supports have been taken away. When it seems we are all alone and there is no end in sight to the troubles which overwhelm us. I could fully empathise with David's feelings of despair and hopelessness, when he was being hounded by King Saul's soldiers, his mentor the prophet Samuel had died and his friend Jonathan could do nothing to help him......

My trials and troubles have been different as I'm sure have those of everyone else... The death of a loved one; the break down of a marriage; an unrelenting illness in ones child; the loss of a job and as such ones income and economic security; a debilitating illness in ourselves; persecution for ones faith, race, political beliefs or ideology are all major life events that can threaten our happiness, mental well-being, health or emotional stability. And woe betide us if a number of these events all happen at the same time, as they have done on several occasions on my life I must admit!!! That's when we retreat, collapse, and hide away in our caves till we regain our strength.

That's often when we learn the most important things about ourselves. It's when we discover or rediscover I should say our hidden strengths. It's when we discover God and realise He has ALWAYS been there with and for us, we were just too wrapped up in the cares of this world to recognise and appreciate his presence!!! It's where we come face to face with our human frailties, failings and inadequacies, where we can finally admit we are out of our depth and need help [like crazy]... It's where God now fills us with his power that strengthen us in our weakness, [if we would only let Him]. It's where we come to realise that we never had any control over our lives in the 1st place, even when things were seemingly going smoothly.

It's where I have come to depend and rely on God to lead and direct my paths; to trust in him for all things and at all times. I am sure there are a few wonderful select people who don't need to go through the cave experience to learn how to trust God or rely on his strength. But I would hazard a guess that most of us are like King David and even my humble self, who only come to the true knowledge of God and self, by the trials that mould and shape us, as we enter into our caves for a season of growing, strengthening and renewing.

So next time when troubles come knocking on our doors, before we get into a panic and start running around like headless chickens, as I'm often wont to do, ha ha ha. Let's all take a step back and say "hey world, hold on a minute there whilst I go into my cave to seek and consult with my God. Then and only then will I answer you."

Lets look at our times in the "cave" as periods of refreshing, as a kind of necessary spiritual retreat... And lets pray that as we mature and are strengthened by his grace, we will need to retreat into our caves less often and for increasingly shorter periods of time, shalom...

Feeling refreshed after my time out in the cave...

 

Lord, I'm not Job!!!!

Lord I'm not Job. This has sometimes been my heartfelt cry to the Lord at times of trials. At other times I utter it in jest. It really has become a standing joke between God and I when I gently remind Him and myself that "porsin body no be firewood." That I'm only human and can get tired and weary [as if He didn't know already].

Why the analogy to "Job", you may well ask. Well we all know the story of  Job from the Bible and for those who don't or have forgotten; Job was a "righteous man", who lived in times long gone. He was successful, hardworking, prosperous and blessed with a large family too! He served his God faithfully even offering up sacrifices regularly to atone for any sins that "may" have been commited inadvertently by his children. Such was his righteousness, his right-standing with God that he was noted for it, which is where I first beg to differ [I know I am not righteous at all...!].

He lost his family, health, wealth and all his possesions in a series of events that he had no control over whatsoever, all within a short space of time,but still remained faithful to his God. He did not know at the time, that this was only a season of trials, of testings permitted by God at the devils instigation to show his faithfulness and patience. May heaven not remember me like that, or should they???] And Job was faithful and steadfast throughout all his losses and trials despite the urgings of his wife who told him to "curse God and die". He didn't but admonished her not to talk like a fool, saying "if we accept blessings from God we must also accept trouble as well" [Job 2:10].

So in current-day Christian teachings Job has come to signify, patience and steadfastness in the face of [sometimes undeserved] dreadful trials and personal suffering.... "The patience of Job", is now a well-known saying even in the wider non-Christian society. So when I remind God I'm not Job, it's my way of saying "I'm tired God, I know I'm not righteous, I've reached the end of "my" patience, of "my" ability to cope with whatever!!! Please God go and find another one of your more worthy children to submit to the "test", cos me, I WILLINGLY CONCEDE DEFEAT, I WHOLE HEARTEDLY SURRENDER, kindly call off your agents because me sef I don tire!!!

Whether He hears me or not is another matter! Though I feel He does cos I know God has a "wicked" sense of humour, [am I allowed to say that?] and after I've vented, often I feel loads better. Then I hear a "still small voice" reminding me that my own "petty" trials however big they may appear, can in no way compare to Job's or some other peoples. Then I'm encouraged... Then I smile and say again "Lord I'm not Job" but this time with good humour, as a standing joke between the good Lord and myself.

I hope this will encourage any of you who are going through difficult seasons and periods in your life. The bad times will eventually come to an end, we may have learnt some great lessons along the way. We will be stronger by the end of them, and hopefully like Job we'll remain faithful to the God who has blessed us in times of plenty too. And we'd have gained a new and better understanding of our God who only desires good for His children even though we are not always conversant with the ways He brings them about....