So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

The cave is a cold space of darkness and emptiness. In the Bible, many tragedies have taken place inside caves. It is a place of hiding when you are being hunted. It is a place where the snake, the fox and other wild animals seek shelter.

In Bible, the first person to hide in a cave was Lot. After the judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah, God sent him to Zoar. But he was afraid and hid in cave, where ultimately incest took place.
In Judges, the Israelites become cave dwellers, scared of Midianites, Amalekites, Philistines and the rest.
The Bible mentions Saul resting many times in caves. While on the run from Saul, David hid in a cave too. Once, all the discouraged, poor and lost gathered around David in a cave. That was David’s church – and he was the first pastor!


It is time for you to come out of the cave. The Spirit of God will bring out people from caves they are hiding in. Jesus, who called out the dead Lazarus, sends His Word to deliver you no matter which cave you are lying lifeless in. Perhaps you’re in fear of the enemy or battling indecision. Our good Lord is beckoning you outside to save you, love you and to make you useful for the kingdom.

Don’t make cave dwelling a way of life. Here are some of the problems if you choose to sit inside a cave:

1. It turns into a prison
But these five kings had fled and hidden themselves in a cave at Makkedah. And it was told Joshua, saying, “The five kings have been found hidden in the cave at Makkedah.” Joshua 10.16,17

A stone was rolled to make that cave into a prison for the five kings. Similarly if your mind stays for long inside a cave of depression, self-pity, hatred or rejection, it will turn into a prison from which you cannot come out. You become isolated and fall into bondage.
If you choose to stay in your cave, you will die there. But God wants to set you free; He is calling you out.
 Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out those five kings to me from the cave. Josh 10.22.


2. You end up in the wrong company
When a believer sits in a cave, worldliness, secularism and unbelief will be his chief companions. You won’t enjoy the company of believers, and will prefer to spend time with Gentiles. But don’t be a hostage to your own thoughts and fear. Come out and enter into the future that God has kept for you.

3. There is low visibility of the future
When stuck in a cave, you cannot see God’s plans for your future. You are restless and frustrated. It’s a smelly place, devoid of the fragrance of praise. But don’t allow the devil to deceive you. Worship God with His people and be with those who are for Christ.
Some are trapped in caves of unforgiveness. Your breakthrough will come only when you pray for and bless those who hurt you. When Job started praying for those who hurt him, blessing and deliverance followed. In fact God gave Job twice as much as he had before (Job 42.10).
Jesus forgave those who killed him. Similarly, bless, forgive, love and reach out to those who have hurt you and rebelled against you.

4. You forget your calling
 Moses was in the ‘cave’ of wilderness for 40 years looking after his father- in-law’s sheep. How did he get there? Moses thought he was the deliverer of the Hebrews, but they rejected Moses. It was this rejection that drove him into the wilderness. For 40 years, he forgot the call upon his life and stayed in the cave. Similarly many have forgotten the call upon their life and are sitting content in the cave. All it took was a single burning bush experience for God to bring out Moses (Acts 7.30).
Many of you will have a similar divine encounter. God will speak to you as in your first days; He will reinforce your calling and send forth His anointing for it.

Choose to step out
For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. John 3. 20
Those who do evil, prefer to stay in cave. The opposite of evil is not ‘good’ – it is ‘truth’. Those who do wrong can also do right. But those doing wrong can never abide in truth, or stand for the truth.

Jesus wants to bring you out of the cave. If you choose to sit there you will die. Elijah sat in cave in fear of Jezebel, but God asked him to step out. You might think you’re done but God has things to do through you.

Who is the Jesus whom we worship? He died for us on the cross of Calvary. The enemy thought it was over when he was placed in a cave and a stone rolled to its mouth. But on the third day, He rose and came out of the cave. He can bring you out of your cave by the same spirit of resurrection. The Holy Spirit is moving for those who believe… receive a new anointing.