Margie and I watched a movie the other night that centered on a dysfunctional family struggling for normalcy. (I think that describes every family, does it not?) One comical ingredient was that each time things got tense in the home, one of the members would say, “I need some space.” The dad would need some space and go for a long drive. The teenage daughter would need some space and go to her room. As they faced times of turmoil and angst, they retreated to a place that they thought would offer them solitude, tranquility, and peace. I have a question for you. When the world colludes against you and all is quickly spinning out of control, where do you go?
I think we all have these mental places we go. Yes, mental places. You see, even though it’s a physical place, it’s first a mental place. I mean, if you don’t believe it will offer you the solitude you desire, you wouldn’t go. The idea of peace and solitude first enters your mind before your feet can take you there to experience it. The interesting thing about the characters in the movie is after a while, they create a habit of their “space place.” When the world got rough, they now instinctually retreated to the place they believed would offer them the mental and emotional peace they so deeply craved. The goal for a follower of Jesus? When life poses myriad problems through people and situations, create an instinctual habit of going to Jesus. For it is there and only there you will find the true peace and solitude that your soul craves.
We open 1 Samuel 22 as David continues running from Saul. David is fleeing from place to place, seeking safety and peace. He ends up at a cave not far from where he defeated Goliath, the cave of Adullam. Adullam means “refuge” and it is here David will find physical safety but more importantly, spiritual peace. It is here in this cave that David, all alone and fearing for his life, will wrestle with God. We all have the “whys” we ask God and at this point David had them by the truck load. Wouldn’t it be invaluable to know what David was thinking in the cave of Adullam? Well, did you know that we indeed can? You see, it was in these moments when David’s soul was crying out to the Lord that he did what few of us do these days…he wrote down the conversation he was having with the Lord. And it was in this cave that Psalm 142 was penned. Listen to Psalm 142, David's very words as he is crying out to the Lord in the midst of an empty, echoing cave.
Psalm 142, A contemplation of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer.
"I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble. When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who watch over my way. In the path where I walk people have hidden a snare for me. Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life. I cry to you, Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living. Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me."
The Lord led David to the cave of refuge, and it is there that he found just that. David poured out his soul before the Lord and when his spirit was faint, when he felt no one cared for his life, when he felt imprisoned, God set him free. It is in this lowly moment that David could say to God, “You are my refuge.”
But notice the last line of David’s Psalm, “Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.” What is David speaking of? It doesn’t take long to find out. David’s new cave whereabouts is made known and God sends him people. And what a group He sends.
“David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him.” 1 Samuel 22:1-2
Friends, it is here we get a beautiful view of David as a Christ figure. David is being rejected by the world, just as Christ was. David is being hunted and threatened with death, just as Jesus was. And as David cries out to the Father, a group of men is sent to him, just as Jesus assembled the disciples. But in the irony of how God operates, the men He assembles are far from what the world thinks they should be. You see, the snare of sin will entangle all, but the purity of the heart is what God sees. God calls the heart in its future potential, not in its current dilemma.
Let’s take a look at the motley crew of men that God specifically called to David.
1) They were distressed. There are two main types of stress; eustress, and distress. Eustress is natural and healthy, it gives us the needed drive to complete projects and the mental energy to achieve goals. But when that stress crests at tantamount levels, it turns to distress. Distress is defined as “extreme anxiety, sorrow, or pain.” Folks, there is a given in this world, it will cause distress. Problems, people, and sin can combine into a deadly cocktail of distress that will steal peace, devour tranquility, and engulf serenity. God sent men to David that were distressed, they needed a tranquility that would truly sooth their soul.
2) They were in debt. Folks, there is nothing that can steal joy and peace from this life like debt. God’s Word says, “the borrower is slave to the lender.” (Proverbs 22:7) Debt makes slaves out of us. I am as anti-debt as anyone on this planet. I hate debt. All of it. I have experienced large debt personally; I can attest to being its slave. Margie and I fled from our debt “as a gazelle from the hunter” (Proverbs 6:5) We now live 100% debt free and are free from its jaws. Folks, do whatever you have to do to get out of debt and stay out of debt. Starting today, pay cash. If you can’t pay cash for it, you don’t get it. And that includes cars. But beyond, physical debt, there is another kind of debt, spiritual debt. God sent men that were indebted to other men, but he also sent men that were indebted in sin to God.
3) Discontented. To be content is to be in a state of peace and satisfaction. To be discontent is just the opposite. To be distraught, to be in internal conflict, to be truly dissatisfied with your life. Folks, there is a big difference between being dissatisfied with a problem or situation in your life and being dissatisfied with your life. The latter causes the soul to cry out and yearn for contentment. God sent men that had dissatisfaction in their souls.
Do these men echo your life? Are you distressed today? Is your soul in constant anxiety and sorrow? God can take it all away. Are you living in sin today, embracing your sin as normal because the world says it’s normal? That is debt to God, He can take your debt away. Are you suffering from a discontent spirit today? A soul that cannot find the peace it is craving? Without Jesus, souls are destined to be in a constant state of unrest and turmoil. God calls the distressed, the debt-ridden and the discontented. He calls them because He loves them. He calls them because He and He alone can heal them. He calls them because He desires to use them. He calls them because He desires for them to have a purposeful, rewarding, abundant life.
So how do you claim this stress-free, debt-free, content life? It comes only through the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus hung on a cross 2000 years ago and was raised to life three days later to eternally triumph over sin. Jesus can save you from sin, it’s what He came to do. He can save you from distress. He has paid the debt of your sin. And He has a life of contentment and peace that awaits you. Admit your sin to Jesus today and ask Him to forgive you. He is rich in mercy and forgiveness and is ready to forgive all that call upon His name.
For those that know Jesus as their Lord, they know the location of refuge. They know the place they can go for solitude and freedom. For the true peace we desire in our soul is not located in any physical place, but in the open arms of Jesus Christ.
As you run from the world today, run into the arms of Jesus.
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