In the bowels of a dark, damp, musty hideout, a powerfully built soldier suddenly wakes out of a deep sleep and jolts upright. Something is not right.  The glowing embers and a few rays of moonlight reveal rugged rock walls and a dirt floor that make up his lodgings. The animal skins next to him are empty, making his heart rate quicken. His captain is missing. 

Jashobeam jumps to his feet noting that it seems a little chillier than last night. Maneuvering out of his cramped sleeping area, he takes note that his back is stiff, and he feels cold through and through. Sleeping on the hard ground is taking it toll. It is not quite daybreak so he tiptoes past his fellow soldiers who are still asleep, knowing that, ultimately, it is his job to make sure nothing happens to their leader, who is not where he should be.

As he moves toward the cave entrance he hears what sounds like whimpering. Carefully, after moving closer toward the sounds he determines that the noise is more of mumbling combined with moaning. Then he sees him, head between his knees–crying. It is the famous shepherd-turned-soldier; his vagabond leader is sobbing. Huddled before him on the ground is a legend. Even as a Jashobeam had heard the story of David and Goliath. He, like most of his countrymen knew that the prophet Samuel had anointed that shepherd boy to be the next king. But tonight, David is hunkered down near the cave entrance where he has been forced to seek shelter from the mad monarch – his father in law, King Saul. 

Jashobeam was one of David’s mighty men and had seen a great deal of suffering in his years of soldiering, but this seemed like one of the saddest situations he had ever witnessed.  It was so much worse than battles like the one David had fought with the heathen Goliath, because King Saul (the man to which David had been so loyal) had amassed his troops and set out to kill David. It was unfair and immoral. David and his family were on the run by no fault of their own. David had been driven to the wilderness where his family and many down-and-outers had joined him. Hundreds of good people were being forced to sleep in caves, and scramble to barely survive in the wilderness – All because their king was insecure and disobedient to God. 

Jashobeam quietly settles in just a few feet behind his beloved leader and listens as David lifts his burden to His Creator and bares his very soul. This is what he heard:

“I cry out to you LORD; I plead for your mercy. I pour out my complaints before you and tell you all my troubles. When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn.

Wherever I go, my enemies have set traps for me. I look for someone to come and help me, but no one gives me a passing thought! No one will help me; no one cares a bit what happens to me. 

I pray to you, O LORD. I say, “You are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life. Hear my cry, for I am very low. Rescue me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me. Bring me out of prison so I can thank you. The godly will crowd around me, for you are good to me.” (Psalm 142:1-7 NLT) 

Although the above story may not have unfolded exactly as depicted, we do know the prayer captured in this Psalm was written by the mighty warrior when in a wilderness cave. It reminds us that Authentic Christians need to expect real life to include wilderness times. Everyone will have wilderness experiences. But believers, like David, can have joy and peace in spite everything, because they have a Shepherd to lead them, and they know this world is not their home.