Out of the Cave Worship

“Out of the Cave Worship” is what we were created for. It connects us to the Creator, the Source of our Origin, our Defender and Redeemer. We were created for fellowship and relationship with Him. That did not change with the Fall of Man. The whole of the story woven throughout the Bible is one of restoring that relationship. One of the greatest examples of the restoration of our relationship was David, the shepherd, psalmist king. As a young boy, David tended his father’s sheep in the fields, playing and singing to the Lord in this place where it was the two of them. He was totally focused on Jehovah God and their hearts were tied tightly together. David understood the closeness of his relationship with the Lord and rested in the knowledge that God was always for him. That is why he could stand victorious in the face of Goliath. As a psalmist, he was so grounded in the Lord that he could play and ease Saul’s mind in the midst of the king’s torment. Saul; placed on a throne over Israel because the people wanted a king, was not God’s highest plan for Israel.

How many times have we asked God for something that was not His highest for us. He will allow us to have it so we can learn that it is not good for us. Worship connects us more closely to our Source. The closer we get to our Source of Origin, the more freedom we experience. He graces us to know our original design and to live within it. We are not bound to our flesh and its desires. That is not to say that we do not war to conquer those desires daily, we take up our cross to crucify them. However, Jesus returns us to the state of our origin before the Fall. In Him, we realize our true design and we are connected to the Creator, who is our every breath.

The story of David and Saul is the same story as Isaac and Ishmael. David, like Isaac was a child of promise, who sought the connection to the Father. Saul, like Ishmael was a product of man’s choices. He was still one that God could use, but not His highest. Recognizing the favor on the child of promise, Saul determined in his heart that nothing would keep him from maintaining his throne and his rule. David was ordained to lead Israel because he was a man after God’s heart. Saul was enamored only with his lust for power. So it is that when Saul realized that David not only had the favor of God, but also the people. He sought to destroy this threat to his power and rule. Saul’s identity was in his own strength, but David’s identity and confidence were in the Lord – his Source.

Still, David ran and hid himself from Saul because he knew that Saul wanted him dead. As I said, we still war against our flesh and “fear of man” is of the flesh. David hid in the Cave of Adullam, which means “hiding place, refuge”. So, in the midst of his trial, David hid himself in the Secret Place. We are strengthened when we hide ourselves in the Secret Place and abide in the Shadow of the Almighty. We are protected, because as we worship and connect ourselves continually to our Source, the Lord, His life, grace, and power flow through and around us. David had an opportunity in the cave to kill Saul but instead chose to allow him to live. Likewise, we have a choice to react impulsively to the circumstances that would tear us down and destroy us or to recognize our Refuge and allow Him to fight for us as we worship Him. God was moved by David’s integrity and character and blessed him for it. Also, Saul recognized David’s mercy and relented in his pursuit to kill David. He even recognized David’s call as Israel’s next king and only asked that David not forget his family, to bless them when he became king. David kept this promise in years to come, because he honored his covenant agreement with

Saul and with God. What then do we make of our place in worship? We were intimately designed to be connected to our Creator. We are created for His pleasure and He longs for our closeness. Worship ties us to Him and engrafts us more and more into Him to bear the same fruit that He bears. Circumstances will come against us. Storms will rage around us. Yet, because we are hidden in Him, which is our Secret Place, we will stand to the end. We Are His! We are at Peace! As David emerged from the cave he went forward to pursue his destiny. The Lord gave Him continued favor and wisdom to be the leader that Israel needed. He was promoted because the Lord knew He could trust David to shepherd the people, to lead as a master strategist, and to bring peace to the atmosphere of the kingdom. I do not believe that David ceased to minister to the Lord with his music just because he became the king. The psalmist was part of his nature as much as the warrior and shepherd. Worship is at the center of our intimacy with the Lord.

It is the same in the end as it was in the beginning, but more necessary and intense. Do our earthly relationships become less important as time advances? Certainly not! The purpose of the relationship is to become closer over time. David moved from the field to the battlefield, to the king’s court, to the cave. From the cave, he returned to the kingdom – to the king’s chambers. He was promoted to bless others, because he loved the Lord first and the Lord loved him. He hid himself in the Secret Place back in the field with the sheep, and therefore he knew where his help came from. Worship brings us through every mountain and valley, knowing that we are intimately known and cared for by our Refuge and Defender. There is no waiver in Him.

We are at Peace!

Scriptures –

1 Chronicles 14:17

1 Chronicles 18:14

1 Chronicles 29:27-30

1 Samuel 13:13-14

1 Samuel 16:13

2 Samuel 6:14

Acts 13:22

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