Part 2: The Cave Is Part Of The Calling Series

The Path Gets Darker Before It Gets Brighter

You know what nobody tells you about destiny? "God often relocates us downward before He lifts us upward"

After the anointing comes the running. After the moment God says "yes" comes the season where everything says "no." After you feel the oil on your head comes the cave.

David experiences this. One moment, he's the chosen one. Samuel has anointed him. The Spirit has come upon him. He's marked by God. And then the very next season, he's fleeing for his life.

The anointing attracts warfare before it attracts fulfillment.

This is the part of the story they don't put on posters. This is the part that separates people with real faith from people with comfortable theology.

Today, we're going to talk about what happens when the gap doesn't just delay your promotion. When the gap becomes a cave. When the waiting room becomes a place where you're not just waiting, you're hiding.

And we're going to discover something that seems backwards. God uses hidden, uncomfortable seasons to shape the kind of people He can trust with public authority.

FROM ANOINTING TO ISOLATION

The Descent That Precedes the Ascent

Let's trace David's trajectory. It's important to see the full fall.

David starts in the shepherd fields. That's obscurity, yes. But it's safe. It's known. It's his father's land. It's home.

Then Samuel anoints him. And everything explodes.

He gets brought to the royal court. King Saul wants him. David plays music for the king. David becomes Saul's armor bearer. David is in the palace. He's close to power. David is ascending.

But then Saul realizes that David has been anointed to replace him. And Saul tries to kill him. Not once. Repeatedly. With a spear. With soldiers. With manhunts across the wilderness.

So, David flees.

He leaves the palace. He leaves the court. He leaves familiar places. He abandons the trajectory that looked like it was heading toward the throne. And he ends up in a cave. The Cave of Adullam.

Picture this. David goes from the shepherd fields, which are at least open and connected to sunlight, to a dark cave. A cave is damp. It's cold. It echoes. It smells of stone and moisture and decay. It's the opposite of a palace. It's the opposite of a throne room.

God often relocates us downward before He lifts us upward.

This is one of the hardest truths to accept when you're in the cave. You're thinking, "This doesn't feel like preparation. This feels like punishment. This feels like I'm going backwards."

But remember this from Part 1: God is most active when He is silent. He is using the dark to yada you to know you intimately and build a bond that the bright lights of the palace would have prevented. The cave is the ultimate silent season. The only thing you hear are the echoes of your own questions. But God is there in the silence, doing the deepest work.

THE CAVE AND WHAT IT STRIPS AWAY

Understanding Adullam

The name Adullam likely means "place of refuge" or "retreat." But that's almost ironic. Because while Adullam is technically a refuge, it doesn't feel like one.

Caves are dark. Caves are damp. Caves are unsafe. Caves are socially invisible. When you're in a cave, you're not on anyone's radar. You're not trending. You're not building a following. You're not developing influence.

You're just hidden.

And here's what the cave does. The cave strips identity from titles.

In the palace, David had rank. David had a title. David was the king's musician. David was somebody important. David had a resume.

But in the cave, David has none of those things.

No rank. No platform. No recognition. No social media following. No way to announce his greatness. No stage.

When titles disappear, truth appears.

Who are you when nobody is watching? Who are you when there's no applause? Who are you when your only identity is what you are to God, not what you are to the world?

This is what the cave teaches. And it's one of the most important lessons a leader can learn before they lead.

WHO GOD SENDS TO THE CAVE

The Broken People Who Shape Your Leadership

But David is not alone in the cave. And this is where the story gets interesting.

"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)

Three groups gather to David in the cave.

The distressed. People who are hurting. People who have been wounded by life. People carrying wounds that Saul's kingdom didn't make space for. People who needed a leader who would actually see them.

The indebted. People who owed money they couldn't pay. People who were financially ruined. People with no options. People who had nothing left to lose.