lessons from a young cave dweller

we all have 'em. days when we feel we need some air. when we go outside and still feel like we're suffocating. days when we feel overwhelmed. days that make us want to run away but we know we can't run far enough. days when the ravenous wolves are snapping at our heels. yeah, we have them all right. they usually follow hard right after we let our guard down after a victory. the arrow that pierces it's target was not well-placed, only well-timed. a moment earlier and it would have harmlessly bounced off the shield.

where is your arrow resting?

the wound is only fatal if you let it be; if no attention is sought; if you hole up inside of yourself. maybe we feel that no one we know has been there; has had an arrow pierce them when they should have been their most protected. and maybe that's why it hurts so much. the trauma of the wound is compacted with our wounded pride. because we have been shown our place. because our pride was bloated.

maybe that's a lesson to learn from the scared youth who hid in caves and wept by himself even though he was surrounded by 200 strong men who pledged themselves for him. it's ok to be scared. it's ok to cry out. it's healthy to need others. it's good to open up. it is only abnormal to be fake. in fact, reality is the only thing normal.

"we have grown so accustomed to the subnormal that when we finally encounter the normal, we think it abnormal." -watchman nee

maybe it's our pride that utilizes plastic when steel is what is needed. we paint pretty pictures and use dazzling effects when there's turmoil deep inside. fear can paralyze; fear does paralyze. fear makes us want to run away and stay to hide at the same time. it's hard when those who experience things with you turn seem to turn against you.

remember when the young man and his men were out and some of their enemies came in and took all their possessions, their wives and their children? the men were so angry with their leader they wanted to kill him. but the scared young man hid in a cave and poured out his heart to God- the only One who could do anything anyway. the next words say it all: he encouraged himself in God. see, david realized that they wouldn't kill him because samuel the prophet had anointed him as the next king. how could he be king if he was dead?

none of those strong men held him as he wept. young david's comfort was not in that he wasn't going to die, but that God did have a plan for his life- and as long as that plan wasn't fulfilled, he had things to live for.

the scared boy emerged from the cave a victorious man. he rallied his men to chase after their enemies and took back what belonged to them and more! he was more than a conqueror- he was an overcomer.

for the world-wide renown of His sovereign glory...