Disclaimer: I do not own the song Cave of Adullam, it belongs to Sara Groves, ect ect ect, and so forth..
This is set in the Bible, during the time when David was running from King Saul.
1 Samuel 22:1a
David therefore departed from there
and escaped to the cave of Adullam.
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Speak to me, speak to me in my cave of Adullam.
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The floor of the cave was thick with dust and sandy grit that scraped under the sandals of the young man who entered it. Running, running, an outcast from his own people, a hero reduced to fleeing for his life, to seek refuge in the dark recesses of caves. Far from his homeland, his family, and loved ones, he was still relatively new to living on the run, hunted like an animal by a half-mad king. He was breathing slightly more easily after having escaped the country of another king, and come to the cave. There was no place else for him to go. He was alone, solidly and frighteningly alone. More alone than he had ever been in his life. As the youngest of eight brothers, even when alone in the fields, there had always been the sheep, and a comfortable atmosphere of familiarity that came with knowing that his family was nearby, if not present. In the palace there were always people coming and going, and of course, there was his best friend Jonathan, the prince. He worried about Jonathan, whose father's angry fits were severe and unpredictable. Jonathan his friend, who had warned him of his father's intent to kill him, Jonathan who might have suffered the ill effects of one of the king's fits for helping him escape… swiftly, he pushed all thought of that out of his mind. Jonathan was fine… surely the king would not murder his own son and heir? And yet he could not quite rid himself of a nagging seed of doubt. He himself surely had not expected murder attempts on his life from the man who had taken him into his home and given him status in the army; from the man who had treated him as a son, and even given him his daughter as wife. Yet twice he had escaped the king's wrath in the palace, and even now he feared for his life at the hands of the king's anger. What do you do when your entire life turns upside down? What is left when all you've known is taken from you and everyone you get close to, you put in danger? Speak to me, Lord, speak to me. Where are You? The whispered words echoed softly off the walls of the cave. Where are You?
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Reach to me, reach to me.
No one cares for my soul.
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The heat of day cooled as night swept in. He had spent the last few hours thinking and praying. Reach to me, Lord. I cannot do this alone. I need You, Your strength and guidance. I need to feel the touch of Your hand on me once again. Again the feeling of acute loneliness came over him. For his father, his brothers, his wife, his home, and especially his best friend. Yet none of them came with me, none of them care, he thought. I am here alone and friendless in this cave, hunted by my own countrymen. No one cares for my soul. Where now are the ones who sang my victories? Where are those who heralded my praises? Those who sang of my slaying of ten thousands? Although he knew in his heart this was not fair, that they did care for him, the pain of being abandoned by those who had cheered him as hero was all too strong at the moment. Not having even one friend along with him, to stand by him, in this, his moment of despair was yet another blow.
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I thought I saw your kingdom,
but it's not going to happen like I thought it would happen.
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I thought I had a destiny. I thought I had a purpose. Lord, where are you? Why is all this happening to me? How can you work your plan through all this? This is not how I saw it… but Your vision is perfect. It's just so hard to see the big picture when all you hold is pieces. Open my eyes Lord, help me to see… to see through Your eyes…I thought I saw your kingdom, but it's not going to happen like I thought it would happen. You are trying to teach me, but I can't see what right now. Everything looks hopeless and I feel like all I've worked for has come to nothing. I thought I knew the path my life should take, but walking the road is the hardest thing I've ever done, and it feels like I'm only getting farther from the goal that was set. Am I still on track? The twisting and winding are making me feel like I'm going in circles and not getting anywhere. How does a shepherd become a king?
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As the day you took my life and gave me a vision,
as the day you poured the oil and gave me a dream.
I can't believe this is happening.
How does a shepherd become a king?
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~/ Flashback \~
It was a day like any other day, and yet, looking back, it was the day that changed my life. The youngest of the sons of Jesse, the eighth son actually, I was overlooked quite often. I got the jobs no one else wanted to do. I was always the one who was stuck taking the sheep to the FARTHEST pasture, and the one who always had to sleep out because it was too far to walk home from the back fields. I was the one who slept in the folds with the lambing ewes who stayed up all night and gave birth at all hours of the night. I was the one who fought off a bear and a lion all on my own because there wasn't anyone near enough to help. I taught myself the intricacies of fighting with a slingshot and the best ways for one small boy to watch many sheep. That day was different though. I was out in the fields, as usual, but when my older brother came to call me in I knew something important was happening. A man was with my father, I did not recognize him, but heard his name, Samuel, the Lord's prophet. He was well known in the land. Why had he come to visit our house? I stood with my brothers, unsure of what was going on. Samuel came to stand in front of me. I will never forget the look he gave me, his smile, his eyes kind, and then took a horn of oil and poured it on my head, in front of all my brothers. Their looks - wistful, annoyed, jealous - told me that they had each in turn been rejected for this honor. All my older, taller, stronger, swifter brothers had been turned down, and instead I'd been chosen. Chosen for something special.
~/ End Flashback \~
How does a shepherd become a king?
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Remind me, remind me of the vision you gave me.
Remind me, remind me what anointing oil is for.
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Through the night the whispered prayers of a lone man echoed through the walls of the cave. Its ancient stones the only audience to the struggle in his heart to understand his life, his purpose, the path set out for him. Remind me, Lord, of the vision You gave me. Give me clear sight and understanding… The memories of that day, it seemed almost in another lifetime, and yet as close as yesterday, and the meaning behind what had occurred then. Remind me, remind me, what anointing oil is for…A symbol of what he was to become, the future king. And that was what had, in a sense, sent him here, to this place. For the king had felt threatened, for his own reign, with a new king anointed already, and for his son, who, without the Lord's blessing would not reign. Jonathan has not minded, but his father… And that was how he had ended up here. Alone in a cave. Remind me Jehovah of my fathers, of my purpose. Of what You meant for me that day, the day Samuel came to a shepherd boy. Remind me, remind me, how a shepherd becomes a king…
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I need to know you're near me.
I need to know you are holding me just as closely
as the day you took my life and gave me a vision,
as the day you poured the oil and gave me a dream.
I can't believe this is happening.
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I need to know that You are near me, that You are with me. I need to know that I am not alone. I need to know that You are holding me just as closely as that day…
~/ Continued Flashback \~
With the oil dripping down my hair and shoulders and onto my tunic, I felt something. It was a feeling I cannot describe. There are no words for it. It was a rush of peace and power. I knew then that the Lord was with me. The God of my fathers, he had chosen me, and I saw then a glimpse the path I was to walk, a glimmer of the future. There was still much I had to learn, I knew, but it was there, and I felt a closeness with my God and a fire, a zeal that I had not felt before. He held me in His hand that day, and I felt Him, His power, His love, His infinite patience and mercy, His faithfulness, His righteousness. It was the most incredible thing I have ever experienced.
~/ End Flashback \~
As closely as the day Samuel came. Be with me, guide my path. Help me.
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How does a shepherd become a king?
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All things are possible through You, Jehovah-Rohe, Shepherd of Israel, You see all paths, all possible endings. You hold my life in Your hands, I am Yours. Through the almighty power of God even shepherd boys can be used for His glory, for His purposes. Through You, O Lord, shepherds can become kings.
Softly the rain pattered down outside the cave entrance. The splash of droplets on dusty stone masked the soft breathing of sound sleep. The sleep of a shepherd who would become king.