Bending Low to Bear More Fruit
By David Faust
Leadership looks easy until youโre the one in charge. After a couple of ugly losses, impatient fans cry, โFire the coach.โ Employees grumble and imagine what they would do if they were the boss. Monday-morning quarterbacks shake their heads and insist, โI wouldnโt have thrown that pass.โ
Second-guessing has always been common, but itโs especially prevalent today because so many leaders have proved untrustworthy. Thatโs why Davidโs attitude toward King Saul strikes us as unusual. David was a loyal soldier, but Saul was overwhelmed by jealousy and he wanted David dead. When Saul sent his army to pursue the young hero, David evaded capture. On one occasion, Saul walked alone into a cave, unwittingly giving David the opportunity to kill him. But David refused to raise his hand against the one God had anointed to lead Israel.
GOD CAN HANDLE IT
What if you honestly believe you could do a better job than the person currently in charge? Should you assert yourself, or should you patiently wait your turn? The case of David and Saul demonstrates that there are times when, instead of taking direct action and rushing ahead, itโs better to wait and trust God to open doors on his own timetable.
Rather than taking matters into his own hands, David told King Saul, โMay the Lord judge between you and me. And may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch youโ (1 Samuel 24:12). Davidโs restraint toward Saul required as much courage as the faith that made him fight Goliath. Again, David said to Saul, โMay the Lord be our judge and decide between us. May he consider my cause and uphold it; may he vindicate me by delivering me from your handโ (v. 15). Do we trust God to vindicate us and deliver us from injustice when the time is right?
SMALLIFICATION
James 4:10 says, โHumble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.โ That verse doesnโt say to let your problems knock you down or let other people drag you down (although that might happen). โHumble yourselvesโ sounds like a decision we make. Why wait to be humbled by circumstances when we can do it by choice? Humility requires making an intentional decision to step off the pedestal and stoop down in submission to God. Lee Eclov, a retired minister who writes for Preaching Today, calls this process smallification. Our egos drive us to look big, but life has a way of โsmallifyingโ usโbringing us low and putting us in our rightful place.
James says, โHumble yourselves before the Lord.โ Worship puts matters into perspective. When we humble ourselves โbefore the Lord,โ we yield to his righteous judgment and trust his surpassing wisdom. James 4:10 adds, โand he will lift you up.โ Smallification leads to glorification! When the time was right, David eventually became kingโnot by pushing himself forward, but by trusting in the wisdom and timing of God.
Eclov writes, โWhen the fight has gone out of us, when our stiff neck finally bends to Jesus, and we release our white-knuckled grip on the hurts and the controls, we will be rightsized to maneuver in Godโs kingdom.โ An agricultural proverb puts it well: โThe more grain on the stalk, the lower it bends.โ
Personal Challenge: In your circle of relationships, is there someone (a leader, perhaps) who makes you feel angry and frustrated? After reading Romans 12:17-21, decide on one way you will demonstrate mercy and humility toward that person this week and โovercome evil with good.โ
Author: Christian Standard
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