The Fruit of the Cave
Caves and tombs are synonymous, for these are places of the dead.
The cave is God’s appointed, waiting room. Its wardrobe is filled with sackcloth and its floor heavily dusted in ash. The cave is the home of privation.
As one dying to themselves the cave becomes the house of prayer. It will only be in silence that I can move to unceasing prayer; in silence I come to rest.
Words that bear fruit are the outcome of worship.
To neglect the cave is to pursue powerlessness and invite fruitlessness. It is an engine room to the soul. It is from the impotence of the cave that Heaven is relied upon. There can be no departing until God dependence becomes foundational to the cave dweller.
Faith that is going to be trusted is first going to be established.
The cave positions its dweller to listen to Jesus without the distracting white noise of this world. Those who are prayerfully alert in the cave will see the surprising and hear the fanciful; this does not belong to the sight or ways of man, and it contradicts the thinking of the world.
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3)
From within the cave there is the unshackling of any poor theological determinism, or faith inhibitions fed by higher Christian education. The Tree of Knowledge is firmly behind the back.
It is in this cool the soul is revived and the human spirit searched. Removed from mans' sight the Tree of Life buds wildly within the cave dweller.
The cave sojourn is an Edenic strolling in the shadow of the Lord. It is here that the Holy Spirit of Truth tramples underfoot a man’s own learning and yearning, so he may then marry his impotence to God's omnipotence.
The cave is the safe/protective home of those waiting on God. The lack of clarity for the future is fed by the promises of Heaven. A cloudy compulsion in the human spirit is the divine call for patience - everything on the face of earth awaits an appointed time.
God will release cave-dwellers, the cave is a journey and not a destination. But as with Jesus and Lazarus a stone must first be rolled away. The cave is not a home anymore than the tomb is the end.
The cave is where self is died to. The heart rises and bellows:
I am not my own - I was bought at a price.
As with dead Lazarus, caves are not final when Jesus is present. The fruit of the cave always becomes resurrection.
Today's Soul Snippet:
'Prayer is standing in the presence of God with the mind in the heart'. ~ Henri Nouwen
ENJOY - The Journey to Spiritual Conquest, 5 Tips to Service the Soul, The Power of a Cave, & 5 Ways of God's Servant
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