1 Samuel 22:1 David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. 2 And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul,[a] gathered to him.

I have often desired that God would use my strengths and my success to demonstrate His greatness in my life. However, I have discovered that people most often ask me about my faith, my hope, and my peace in the middle of the hardest times of life. God expands the influence of your life during the hardest times of your life if you stay faithful to Him. There is a level of authenticity and authority that is present in a person’s life that has gone through a battle with success. Don’t feel like your struggle is limiting your platform but rather realize that your faithfulness to God is building a platform…even in the midst of your hardest times of life.

David was separated from all of his resources, all of his comforts, and all of his positions granted him by the king. Yet, being separated from all of these things that many people rely on, he did not allow them to separate him from his faith in God. During this dark season of living in a cave as a renegade, God allowed his influence to flourish. Men flocked to serve David. Men volunteered to follow David during his cave season that would have never come to him if he had dwelled in the palace of Saul.

Today’s Challenge: Realize that when life separates you from your comfort that does not mean that you are separated from God’s care. Hardships do not limit your influence but they actually expand the influence of your life to a whole new realm. If you are going through a season of difficulty, stay faithful and you will see God increase the influence of your life.