David: letting God handle it

David amazes me. I admire that a young man would take on a lion and a bear without anyone's help.  I admire that he would take that same courage and confidence into a battle against a skilled warrior. I am amazed that he could move back and forth from the king's household to the sheepfold. Yet I am particularly impressed by his restraint.

When David was offended by Nabal, he almost lost it. He marched against Nabal but then listened to the advice of Abigail. In the end, he thanked God for restraining him from avenging himself. Twice he could have killed Saul but refrained; he explained to his friend that the Lord would strike him but "the Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord's annointed".

It seems to me that I often start out with great intentions into service, ministries or missions. Somewhere along the line, I become frustrated with those who are less committed to the cause. In those moments, to simply take care of my heart and let the Lord deal with the rest is not easy. Jesus, in his last conversation with Peter on the beach, called him to do the same - take care of his own life while letting the Father deal with others.

For some, that is probably not a hard challenge. For those of us who feel a deep sense of justice, who were raised on "The Pursuit of Excellence" principle and who tend to live in leadership, it can be a great challenge. One which David seemed to handle well; one in which I will try to grow.

Mark 10:35-45; Powerlessness

Somehow we are wired to seek power; Jesus has all power and seeks those who relinquish power. In the early paragraphs of this chapter little children are accepted while the actions of adults are spurned and rich men are stumped while poor people are embraced. Yet James and John still wanted power. Obviously the indignation of the other apostles was not due to their lack of seeking power but due to jealousy; otherwise, Jesus would not have stopped to teach them again.

Perhaps the greatest irony is that all this occurs as the king of the world is marching to surrender himself to his enemies. There is no scene that conveys a greater lack of power than that of the accused and abused Jesus who refuses to fight back. On his way to surrender, his disciples audaciously play power games.

Two thousand years later, we do not have it down either. Often church leaders are those who have success in business, who "get things done by running over others" or who have higher degrees. Success and education are good things but were never meant by Jesus to be the goal of life nor the reason for promoting someone to leadership in the kingdom. What would the church look like today with child-hearted, economically unsuccessful leaders whose first reaction was to surrender rather than fight back?

Philippians 2:5-17; Work out

Jesus went from being set apart as God to being a murdered human servant. So when the text calls me to "work out" my salvation, it calls me to a lot of work. To follow in those footsteps repeating that pattern is an intimidating call. Everything within me wants to leave the words as "good theory" and then play a nice church game. Daily self abasement without complaining is a high calling.

The prayer of "not my will but yours be done" is easily stated but not easily lived. It is a heartfelt decision that must proceed daily from time alone. Jesus uttered those words in private as he grappled with his own desires. Unless I put myself in the same position, my prayer will simply be words spoken out of a sense of duty but with no heart conviction. It was this prayer that permitted him to fulfill his purpose though no one understood it in the moment.

Can I utter this same prayer with the same conviction and carry it out with no complaints like he did? If not, do I have the right to call myself his follower?