Let the LORD lead you and trust him to help. A Psalm of David. Psalm 37:5 CEV

Let the LORD lead me? Trust him to help.

Follow God's lead without knowing where he's sending you.
Wait for God's timing without knowing dates, times or places.
Expect a miracle without knowing how God will provide.
Trust God's purpose without understanding the circumstances.
Believe in a vision without details.

It sounds so easy. I can say the words, "I surrender and give God control." I may even believe at some level that I surrender and give God control. But, then I stealthily sneak it back like I’m stealing a cookie from the forbidden cookie jar. I already know I get into trouble every time I my hand reaches for that cookie but I go ahead and do it anyway. There are a lot of cookies between me and becoming a fully devoted, connected and generous follower of Jesus Christ. There is even more required of me if I truly want to become a valuable leader. I must surrender to God’s authority and leadership in my life if I’m going to have any integrity in his kingdom. I have to accept I can not outmaneuver him. I must give up trying to manipulate others, force my agenda or control the situation to get my preferred outcome. I am supposed to trust him more instead of trying so hard to get my way. Munch. Munch. Munch.

I’m pretty sure King David may join me as I dunk my Oreos. I think he and I could have a laugh or two if we compared our leadership notes. Over the years, I’ve learned to consult the contents of the Holy Bible as a leadership manual. Leadership development requires an enormous amount of resources. I am convinced only God can truly develop leaders because He’s the only one with enough resources to invest in the process. Just consider the valuable lessons forged from the chapters of experience. Leaders must learn how to negotiate the chasm between knowing what has to be done and actually doing the hard work.

David was selected by God to become a leader. This was not an over-night process. God promised David he would make his name great and build a house through him. God did not reveal the exact details to the plan. He did expect David to trust him and to live into the relationship they constructed together. I wonder if it was the awkwardness of trying something he couldn’t do on his own that eventually eroded David’s confidence. He did a lot of things that were not God honoring and mostly self-serving. He started out well but like so many leaders throughout history, David did not finish well. God still kept his promise regardless of David’s behavior. God is far more faithful. We can trust his lead.

It’s still astonishing to me that God chose to do amazing work through David. God elected to make Jerusalem his holy city. God eventually built the temple and established the Davidic dynasty which paved the way for the ultimate King of Kings to reign in the hearts of men and women. God did build a house in his own way. Sunday we will talk about David’s legacy. God remains faithful. We can trust his lead and he continues to select people for his own purposes. Maybe it’s time to consider what leadership resources have already been invested in you. If you would like to talk about leaders and leading, I will bring the Oreos. We can learn together.

If you do what the Lord wants, he will make certain each step you take is sure. Psalm 37:23 CEV