Have you ever been in a bad situation, one from which you could not escape or see any reason for being there? I have and so did King David. We alluded to it last week, so let's pick up this week with more of the story.
A BAD LEADER
I think we can all agree that King Saul wasn't a good leader. While he started strong, he ended miserably. Last week, I pointed out that Saul quickly became David's nemesis. While David faithfully served Saul, the king was increasingly envious of David and eventually tried to kill him on three separate occasions. When that failed, Saul spent years using the armies that should have been devoted to fighting the Philistines to hunting down David.
David suffered greatly during that time. Although David knew he was to be the next king, he had to endure persecution at the suffering of the current king. Many urged David to take matters into his own hands to remove Saul and some tried to act on his behalf. David resisted each temptation to do so, choosing rather to wait for God to put him on the throne rather than put himself there.
Why would God have put David in such a position? Why did David suffer so long at the hands of a man that God had rejected as king? What was God doing during that time?
It's clear what God was doing. God was teaching David how to lead from the firsthand example of a bad leader. David learned more about leadership from Saul than from anyone else. What did he learn? He learned how not to lead!
Could this be the answer to your current dilemma, which finds you far away from the fulfillment of a purpose that you understand and think you are ready to embrace?
TALK IS CHEAP.
There are many who say, "If I was in charge, this would happen or that would not happen." That kind of talk sounds good. Even the leaders in Jesus' day said the same thing:
"And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets" (Matthew 23:30).
The problem is that this talk is cheap. If you don't decide what kind of purposeful leader you will be before you have money or power, you are doomed to replicate the same miserable leadership style that you had to endure to become a leader yourself. You don't believe me? Read what Jesus said in response to those potential leaders:
"Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue them from town to town." (Matthew 23:34).
God will eventually give you a chance to lead, just he did David. David learned his lessons well and decided what kind of leader he was going to be while Saul was still pursuing him. What's more important, David actually became that kind of leader. He learned his lessons well. Jesus' contemporaries duplicated the same mistakes of the past because they didn't learn good leadership skills from their bad leaders. When they refused to learn, they were doomed to repeat history.
Why are you where you are right now? Why is your situation so tough? Part of the reason may be so that you will learn how not to lead when you finally get the chance. If people are being stingy with you, learn to be generous now. If no one expresses thanks to you now, remember how it feels and say thank you when you are in charge.
If that's what God is teaching you, then you can embrace your current situation more enthusiastically because it simply part of your learning training. When you learn the lesson, God will move you on. Just don't be guilty of saying today that things will be different when you are in charge. Make it happen tomorrow when you have the chance. If and when you do that, the hard lessons of these days will be well worth the price you are paying to become the leader that God wants you to be. Have a great week!
**********************************************************************************************************************
Please write your comments to this Memo on the site where it is posted. Your comments will help others as they seek to apply the lesson for the week. It also serves to encourage me. If you have any suggestions for topics or improvements for The Monday Memo, please feel free to email them to me.
You can also go to The Memo site to read last year's Memos (Memos prior to 240 can be found on my website). Don't forget to check out the PurposeQuest website, which has a lot of material that will help you find your purpose and be productive. You can also sign up for my weekly Bible studies where we are currently studying Mark's gospel.
You can check out my blog and sign up to receive my updates as I write them.
Finally, please remember PurposeQuest and the Stankos in your missions giving.
Here is my itinerary for the next few months:
- March 20-24 -- Dallas, Texas
- March 25-27 -- Seattle, Washington
- April 24-29 -- England
- April 30-May 7 -- Nairobi, Kenya
- May 8-June 30 -- Zimbabwe
Let me know if I can help you with your PurposeQuest when I come to your area.
I really enjoy your Monday Memo and eat my fill, so to speak, every week. Thank you sir, you really encourage and teach me.
Posted by: Gideon | March 21, 2007 at 01:54 AM
Hi Dr. Stanko,
Nothing profound to say to except a heartfelt, "THANK YOU!!" for this week's Monday Memo. I anticipate each week's entry, and the timing on this one couldn't be better...extremely encouraging. Thanks again, and like David, may I not only learn but apply the lessons well.
Keep up the great work--you're making a difference,
Posted by: Lori | March 28, 2007 at 10:39 PM