There are so many amazing leadership lessons in just these 5 chapters, but I am going to focus on just one in this blog post.

In 2nd Samuel 15:13-29 the story is shared of David fleeing Jerusalem in the wake of his son Absalom’s power move. What I see in this story and admire so much about David and am so grateful for the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to have this placed in Holy Writ, is that David does not presume that God sees him as irreplaceable. Nor does David see potentially burning down all that God has built worth trying to hold onto power. He leaves Jerusalem to protect God’s Holy City. He sends The Ark of the Covenant back recognizing God is for everyone not just the King. He sends back the priests, because they are to be loyal to God (represented by the Ark) and not loyal to the King. And finally David acknowledges that he does not know if this is his end or not and he’ll leave that call in the hands of God not his own conniving,

“Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me back and let me see both it and his dwelling place. 26 But if he says, ‘I have no pleasure in you,’ behold, here I am, let him do to me what seems good to him.” -2 Samuel 15:25, 26

The lessons are obvious but I will state them just in case you didn’t pick-up on them in the reading:

• Don’t fight to hold onto power if it risks damaging what God has built. Whether that is an individual ministry, a volunteer position in the church, a pastoral position, an administrative position. Just walk away rather than seeing the work of God brought lower.
• The people that are loyal to you but that can be a blessing in the transition teach them and encourage them to use their gifts to serve the people not just “you” the previous leader.
• Those of us in leadership will all have our end of leadership and that is not for us to decide but God. Trust Him in that. “If God brings me back so be it, if not let Him do with me what best serves His cause.”

David was a brilliant leader mainly because he didn’t grasp power too soon (overtaking Saul) and he didn’t try to hold onto it when someone was trying to grasp it from him to soon. In both instances he waited on the Lord and the Lord established David’s authority. Oh that I would be found to be such a leader. Lord help me!

Our Next Reading: Psalm 57-59