A Lesson From King David

King David was a man. He was just a simple shepherd boy with some musical talent, when God called him to become a king. But he didn't become that king overnight. Not even over the next couple of years. He had a lot of growing up to do. And he made some errors along the way. He left us a legacy to learn from.

We can learn some things NOT to do from King David. We all know he never should have dwelt on the sight he saw of Bathsheba sunning herself...but that's another lesson for another day.

Today, I believe God is showing me something very significant about our society, and how easy it is to get involved in the wrong kind of politics.

David was not exactly a politician. Yet, he had a substantial following of men ready to defend and die for him, even before he became king. It is true, that God had already chosen him, annointed him, and called him. Yet, David continued to b e a servant of King Saul, comforting him when he was bombarded by fear and anxiety attacks. Even after it became evident that King Saul was no longer the best ruler for Israel, David did not usurp his authority or brag about the facts of his anointing. He quietly grew, knowing in his heart that some day, God would make room for him.

In today's world, we currently have a very controversial leader. Many Christians voted for him, believing the previous administration had erred greatly in important issues. Some now regret it. Others do not.

What concerns me here, more than the decisions that the President is making, is the daily decisions many many Christians make to undermine him. Personally, I will say that I did not vote for him, nor can I support many of his choices. I too, was among those who passed on jokes and made fun of him. I referred to him in ways that were not Christ-like.

And then, I read the story, AGAIN, about David and Saul. Saul had become so fearful of losing his kingdom, that he set out to kill DAvid. The saga takes up several chapters in the Bible. But the story that stands out to me, is where King Saul goes into a cave to respond to a bodily function, and David and his men are already inside. Saul doesn't notice them, but they notice him. One even suggests to David that he sneek up behind him and kill him. After all, God had already anointed David to be the nnext king...

David toys with the thought, and then slips up behind and cuts off a piece of the kingly garment, and pockets it. Later, he produces it to proce he could have killed the king. But DAvid said, "I will not harm God's anointed." He honored the position of the king. (By the way, originally, Saul was chosen by the people because they disliked the previous administrative dealings. They did not want a theocrasy, but wanted to be ruled by men.)

I coorelate that story to our current situation. God did not ordain our President and anoint him...or DID He? Supposedly we prayed for the election. Supposedly we voted with our conscience. And yet, here we have a controversial guy many do not like. Oour system is run by the people (suppoosedly). God did not "choose" the president ahead of time. Supposedly. Now I wonder, IF God's people, who are called by His name (Christins) humbled themselves and prayed...then we must accept that God MUST have had a hand in rising up this current adminsitration, no matter what we think of it. And the Bible, which we believe to be the Word of God, says clearly to pray for our leaders.

Should we not take the same stand as DAvid did? Should we not resist harming the man in the position of leadership? It seems to me that the REAL enemy of our land, and our spirits, the devil himself, has gotten quite a hayday going with hateful words and jokes. We are undermining the authority of the man that God has allowed to lead us.

The Word says nothing about any man delivering us or healing our land...it is GOD who shall do this...through PRAYER, not jokes, and political upheaval. I am not saying we should not exercise our rights to speak up against what we believe is wrong...or to voice our opinions. But our opinions that deride an authority can only be siding with evil. I am not saying we should not stand up and be counted and declare what we feel....but I see this as two different things here.

1. We should responsibly speak up for righteousness and demand our laws be based in it.
2. We should support through PRAYER ALL the leaders God has currently allowed in our society.
3. By allowing our hearts to become bitter, hateful, or fearful, we are not declaring the Kingdom of God for our country.

I think this is an evil sly undermining of America...not by our President or ANY administration, but by the forces of evil, who divides the Christians, causes our hearts to not be one, causes our hearts to be fearful and dissatisfied....thus preventing us from the true power of God.

Think about it please! I am no longer going to be participating in anything divisive or unproductive or demeaning towards leadership. I will not be sending any forwards of political jokes or rumors of things undermining our President. I will send prayer requests of information that has been substantiated for which we need to join in prayer. I will admonish my friends and brothers and sisters to pray and to surrender our hearts to God's love. I will honor the position of authority that God has graciously allowed us to maintain in this country for over 23o years! AND I will speak up to my leaders, expressing my concerns, in a godly fashion. And I will use the power of my vote to say what I mean!

Let us take to heart the verse about humbling ourselves. (Who of us would even want to be President right now?) Let us PRAY! Let us pray with contrite and upright hearts, fully surrendered to God. Let us lay aside the agendas, the fear, the jokes and comments, and truly seek the Lord for our great nation.