April 13, 2022
Praying Partners,
Thank you for devoting this day to prayer for our prodigals and for revival.
David became a great leader in Israel. His faith in God was interwoven through every aspect of that leadership.
John Maxwell once said, “Leadership is not about titles, positions, or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.” A person of true faith is a person of character and his or her life will influence others in a positive way.
Good leadership requires qualities like courage, compassion, consistency, and candor. David emulated these characteristics throughout his life.
David was courageous in facing the enemies of God. He did not shy away from the difficult challenges of those who tried to bring God’s people down in defeat.
I like how Charles Spurgeon said it, ”Faith clothes me with the power of God. Faith engages on my side the omnipotence of Jehovah. Faith ensures every attribute of God in my defense. It helps me to defy the hosts of hell. It makes me march triumphant over the necks of my enemies."
Faith recognizes that a task is doomed to failure unless God is in it. When God is at work through our faith, enemies are sure to fall. David’s courage inspired those around him.
David was compassionate in helping the weak and vulnerable. He was a man of authority, but he didn’t abuse it. He used it to be a blessing to the needy.
Take the story of Mephibosheth, for example, in 2 Samuel 9. Mephibosheth was a grandchild of the previous king, Saul, who tried to kill David. But David sought Mephibosheth out and took him in for the single purpose of showing kindness to him.
David never forgot where he came from. Those humble roots continually reminded him that he too was vulnerable and God brought him into greatness. David’s compassion was witnessed by the nation.
David was consistent in his honor of God’s name. When he was young and saw the army of God cowering in fear before the giant, Goliath, David asked, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26). They watched in awe as he, motivated by God’s honor and not his own, risked his life by running to fight the giant with only a sling and stones.
This focus on God’s honor characterized his whole life, from beginning to end. In 1 Chronicles 29, when at the age of 70 he prayed before God’s people, his desire was for the glory and greatness of God and not himself. In David, the people saw a man who was consistent.
David was a man of candor with the people of God. He loved them and he lived truthfully before them. His heart was revealed in the way he treated them. He treated them as he treated his father’s sheep as a boy: with love, care, and integrity.
Asaph said, “He [God] chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the nursing ewes he brought him to shepherd Jacob his people, Israel his inheritance. With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand” (Psalm 78:70-72).
Whatever sphere of leadership God has brought you into, as you seek to influence others, may your faith be deepened and your character developed.
Love in Christ,
Bryan and Rachel
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