Leading Like a King

We often hear the phrase, “They are living like a King”

That sounds amazing! Sitting on the throne, being fanned with palm leaves, eating grapes and telling everyone what to do. But that is certainly not what a king’s life was like in the Bible. The Bible is filled with kings that don’t fit the stereotype of “easy going life”. Kings had to make decisions that could affect millions of people. Decisions that could create great joy or cause great strife. You read of several kings who had mental breakdowns and enormous strife due to their role. There are kings who faced massive threats on their lives and had to live constantly looking over their shoulder. I shudder at the stories where they are betrayed by close friends and even their own family. On another level, the personal struggle to live above reproach and not succumb to the temptation of power and position seems to be the downfall of many. I am not sure that I would want to be King after reading their stories, yet there is much we can learn about leadership when we examine their journey.

This month we have been looking at the life of King David. David faced many challenges in his personal life and in the life of the kingdom. How did he lead? How did he manage to be one of the few kings that lived a life for God’s glory and lead the nation to be closer to the Lord? We see David lead with attributes like: Courage, Patience, Passion and even Grace. David’s leadership, although not perfect, has a lot to offer our lives as we do our best to live for God’s glory.

You may not be a king, but you do have influence in the life others. What do they see when they watch your life? How do they feel when they serve with you? Are they inspired, supported and encouraged by your leadership? How are we influencing those God has given us the privilege to lead or impact? We have discussed how David faced the giants of his life, we have walked with him on a very difficult road of patience and trusting God to be faithful. This week we will draw in close to David and see how God inspired him to lead with grace. David was a mighty man of war, a strong and victorious warrior, but he was also a man of compassion, mercy and grace. Any leader who doesn’t know how to extend grace has forgotten how they got to the place of leadership. You will never lead with Grace if you don’t live in Grace. David was a man who understood what it meant to be given grace, he knew it was only through the very purpose, power and presence of God that he was in the position he was in. David lived life depending on the precious grace of God, therefore he was a leader who extended grace to others.

Do you remember what it is like to be given grace?

How are you able to use your sphere of influence to extend grace to those around you?