In the cave ofAdullam, where David hid from Saul, a reunion occurred. Somehow word got to his family and they decided to find him. They hadn't accompanied him to the palace of Saul, or joined him when he was the captain of Saul's army. But now that he was destitute, alone, and in a dark, hard place, they were compelled to meet with him. Even his oldest brother Eliab, who had so harshly criticized him in the past, came to him in the cave. This breakdown in David's life produced a breakthrough in his damaged relationships. Sometimes trouble is a unifying and healing force for relationships. When the level of hardship or pain we face becomes critical, old disagreements and misunderstandings become insignificant.

Hard situations also have a way of revealing who is really on our side. Many people will want to be at our side when we are winning, popular, and rich, but we should note carefully the people who stand by us when we're outnumbered and unpopular. These people become so precious to us, because their faithfulness has been proven by struggle. God can use struggle to heal our broken relationships if we are willing to put aside the past and yield to His will.

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1 Samuel 22:1

“David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father's household heard about it, they went down to him there.”

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Proverbs 17:17

”A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.”

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Proverbs 27:10

“Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family, and do not go to your relative's house when disaster strikes you---better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.”

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John 15:13

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.”