May 4, 2026 -Leadership God's Way
- brooks16055
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
1 Samuel 8:19-20 NIV
[19] But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. [20] Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”
Oh, how we fall into the same trap over and over again. We want what others have just because we don't have it. It doesn't matter if we don't need it. God Himself had repeatedly gone out to fight the Israelites battles and there was no one who could defeat Him. But that wasn't good enough. Why not? Maybe it was because there were times that they wanted God to fight for them, but God had good reason for them not to go into battle. Sometimes it was because they had disobeyed God and He withheld His favor in order to bring them to a place to turn back to Him. It's amazing that they thought that having an earthly king who would fight for them would be better than God. But we do the same thing. We decide what we want and go looking for it. Human recognition and earthly provision, human leaders to guide and direct us in our personal lives, work lives and even spiritual lives. Don't get me wrong I don't think it is wrong to look to those who are wise in certain areas and have experience with particular things, but when we look to those people before we look to God then we are no better than the Israelites looking for a king. When we decide who we are turning to for help instead of asking God to direct us we are picking our own king. We all need leadership but we need to seek leadership God's way, with Him first in leadership.
I currently am in an intensive leadership development program that requires me to find a mentor. A Christian mentor who embodies the 5 Core Values that are the foundation of the program. When this was presented to me at our first 2-day workshop, I felt such a heavy burden to find the right person. It was almost overwhelming to think about. I didn't want to just pick someone for the sake of checking it off the list and getting through it. I went into a time of continuous prayer and reflection until it was time to leave for the day. I want to choose the person that God would have as my mentor. There is some time before the decision has to be made so I didn't have to rush but I felt the weight of the importance. It's not the same as asking for a king but I could have just ignored the spiritual weight that I felt and just picked someone that would be the kind of mentor that would make this an easy thing. But I left there with a name of a person. I knew that this was the person I was to talk to and that she would either be my mentor or would be someone who could direct me towards a mentor. It is someone that I admire, trust and love but I also know that she will take this responsibility seriously. We met today and she had shared with me all the time in prayer, study and research that she already spent and what she felt on her heart to share with me. She didn't make a decision based on her feeling her schedule or her opinions. She prayed she dug into scripture and researched the program and the core values. Then she talked with me and asked questions to discern if my decision making came from seeking God. This confirmed to me that she is the right person. I pray that she truly is the one that God has chosen and if we are heading down the wrong path that He would reveal that. David was a man after God's own heart, and He was a great leader for the Israelites despite his human sinful decisions. I believe that this woman is a woman after God's own heart and will be a great leader to mentor me down the path of leadership that I find myself on. I trust in You Lord to keep us on a path of leadership done You way.
Lord let her be a David to me not a Saul. Keep my heart focused first on you. That I might trust you to fight my battles and to direct my steps. I thank you for the help that you are providing on this path. The training program and this mentorship. I have craved and would have loved to have sought out a mentor before this but I guess that would have been me demanding something because I wanted it instead of waiting until you wanted it. I trust you Lord that this is all in your timing and I can't wait to see what you will do over the next 18 month. Amen
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