Finding Bounty in the Cave: A Psalm 142 Devotional
My grandparents lived about two hours away from my family when I was growing and the drive to their home is full of memories for me. That one gas station where my mom bought Diet Pepsi and Combos. The place where the fields of Indiana would fade into the pine trees of Michigan was when I knew we were getting close. Then our tires would crunch onto the gravel road as we made the last turn and pulled into their driveway at last.
You could always count on a few things at my grandparent’s house–my grandpa put out birdseed on the deck every morning, he’d have grape pop and beer in the garage fridge, and he always had stacks of toilet paper.
Alongside the rows and rows of t.p., there were also tissue boxes and paper towels stockpiled in the bathroom and closets. When he passed away my mom found a dresser full of white t-shirts, some still brand new in the packaging.
One day when I asked about why he always had SO much toilet paper, my mom explained about his experience growing up in the Great Depression in a large family in poverty.
“So he gets a lot because he can…and because he remembers what it felt like to run out and not be able to get more.”
Knowing why he stockpiled didn’t stop me from teasing him (as any sassy teenager would) about his hoarding-adjacent ways. Still, I was beginning to understand how his past affected him. And how hardships leave distinct, but invisible marks on all of us.
Over the past 20 years, I’ve had my share of hard seasons–chronic illnesses, toxic workplaces, relationship breakdowns, difficult pregnancies, and spiritual and emotional burnout. I’m sure if we were drinking coffee together we could swap trauma stories for days.
If Jesus had scars from his human existence, so will we.
And the Bible is thankfully not silent on hard and heavy topics. The man with the most recorded information in the God’s Word about him besides Jesus actually wrote a lot about the hard decisions and heavy times in his life.
His name was David and he wrote honestly about his hard and heavy times. He was living in the land of the in-between; promised a kingdom, but living in the reality of being on the run from his best friend’s dad, King Saul with his life on the line hiding out in a dark place called the Cave of Adullam.
David’s Complaint and Sorrows
Psalm 142 is a short Psalm that reads like a raw, journal entry from the not-yet King David.
“With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord. I pour out my complaint before him, I tell my trouble before him.” -Psalm 142:1-2
David is unfiltered and free with his feelings before the Lord. He is in desperate need.
I want you to hear today that God is big enough for your complaints, your whinings, your troubles, your pleadings, your worries, your fears. He wants us to talk to Him about the circumstances of our lives that suck. You don’t have to pretend to be anything you aren’t with God.
David says in the next verse, “No one cares for my soul.” -Psalm 142:3
David’s life is not working out the way he thought it would. And in his darkest moments, no one shows up for him. There’s no funny meme sent by a friend. No “I’m praying for you text.” No meal train. No support whatsoever from the people he thought he could count on. No place that felt safe physically or emotionally and even worse, the distinct impression no one even cares.
David is in an emotionally, spiritually, and physically dark place. After he gives voice to his hardships, he begins to speak truth over his circumstances, preaching to himself about God’s care and goodness–even in this disheartening, leave-a-mark-on-you situation.
If David did this, you and I can do it too. We can hold the truth that we have complaints and things we wish WEREN’T, but we also have the promises of God. We have a God who hears, a God who cares, a God who is a present help and refuge for us in the tough times and worst days we can imagine.
“I cry to you, O Lord; I say, You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living. Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low! Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me.” -Psalm 142:5-6
When life becomes too much for us–emotionally, physically, spiritually–we can keep grinding, hoping things will miraculously get better or we can hit our knees and beg God to intervene. It’s been said, “We treat prayer as our last resort instead of our first resource.”
We turn first to our own skills, know-how, cash reserves, emotional maturity, or social prowess to deliver us. We try to sort things out, but we end up further entrenched in our problems and embittered that God isn’t doing enough.
David’s Hope in the Dark
David goes on to say, “The righteous will surround me” (Psalm 145:7) In another version it says “God’s people will encircle me”. God commands his children to be in community for our good–to uphold, support, and encourage each other in unprecedented times.
I love good church stories like one my friend Melissa and her family just experienced as the family of God rallied around them to provide (what felt like an astronomical cost) a handicap-accessible van for their son Kevin. Church isn’t meant to be a holy huddle, but a hands-on support system of generosity and compassion both in good times and bad.
David closes His prayer to God with this statement of faith: “For you will deal bountifully with me.”
In hard seasons God is still bountiful.
And we may one day look back on our current hardship as a time of remarkable growth and provision–although not always provision in the way we might expect.
God didn’t send a rescue chopper to David in the cave; there was no immediate evac available or shortcut to the throne room he was promised. God often doesn’t give me the quick pass I am hoping for–instead, He walks me the long way around, staying present, faithful, and listening as we journey together hand in hand toward healing.
The word bountifully is a Hebrew word which means to deal fully and adequately with, to wean, and to ripen. It lays open a host of fascinating word pictures for the ways we can count on our Heavenly Father to deal with us.
The weaning process for babies can often feel like something they love is being taken away from them. But actually, a whole new world of delicious flavors, experiences, and nutrition is opening up FOR them.
When our middle son was beginning to try new foods in the weaning process his whole chubby body would shake with excitement as he bit into a juicy watermelon. He didn’t want to give up his bottle at first, but the delicious bounty of food beyond formula changed his mind quickly!
The ripening process is also one of unfolding bounty. If we dig into the ear of corn or strawberry too early, we miss out on the best parts. But we have to trust the process God is taking us through. Believing the growth and goodness waiting for us is worth the pain, worth the wait.
Into the cavernous, scarring, and uncertain moments of our lives, God is not asking us to deny our feelings or leave our pain unacknowledged. He can handle our complaints. He is our safe place when everything feels unstable. And He has an emerging and expanding feast of goodness for us, far more than we could ever imagine or guess or request in our wildest dreams. (Ephesians 3:20 MSG)
Enjoy this article? Keep reading more like this!
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- David: 90 Days With a Heart Like His
- 35 Bible Verses About Hope in Hard Times
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