Life is full of hurts and betrayals, especially when you are involved in ministry. Often these hurts and betrayals can lead us deep into what I call “The Cave of Despair” which results in life ministry becoming misery. This is not a new concept. Many spiritual heroes in the Bible experienced the same path. Elijah found himself in the cave of despair and Joseph found himself in the pit of betrayal.
In February of 2010 I entered “the cave of despair” for the first time in 23 years of pastoral ministry. It would be months before I would begin the process of coming back out of that cave and taking steps to see my joy in ministry and life rekindled. I had heard about the cave and even talked to those who had experienced it, but until then I not only had never been near the cave, I really didn’t think it was even possible that I ever could find myself inside of it, let alone become a long term resident within its confines. In fact, I wondered if the cave really existed.
The cave did, in fact, exist.
Those months that I lived in the cave were the absolute worst timeframe of my entire life. Over those months I sank deeper and deeper inside the cave until I finally hit “rock bottom.” It was then that I realized that I would not be able find my way out of the cave without help. It isn’t just pastors that experience the cave. It happens to anyone who suffers hurt from another or who has felt the sting of betrayal. The Bible has a wonderful passage regarding this kind of hurt. In 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, the Bible says: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
There are two powerful principles in this passage of Scripture. First, God can comfort us in all of our suffering. Second, God wants to bring us comfort in our suffering so that we can then bring His comfort to others who go through the same type of suffering. You see, God does not comfort us to make us comfortable, He comforts us to make us comforters!
It was this very principle that resulted in taking the time to write my first book titled, “The Cave: When Ministry Becomes Misery.” This is a book that offers HOPE and HELP for anyone who has felt the sting of betrayal. “The Cave: When Ministry Becomes Misery” is now available online in paperback and e-book format through Amazon, Books-a-Million and Barnes & Noble. It is also available at Saturn Booksellers in Gaylord and Beginning to End Christian Bookstore in Lewiston.
I assure you that there is life on the other side of “the cave.”
This article originally appeared here.
