When God Says Go and Men Say No

1 Samuel 22-23; Psalm 115; Proverbs 15:18-19

 

What are you supposed to do if you’ve heard from God, you have His direction, you have his guidance… and the people you lead aren’t sure whether they want to follow you in that direction?

 

Do you yell and shout and insist on your way – God’s way? I mean, you heard from God, after all!

 

Do you go off by yourself, obeying God alone and leaving your followers behind?

 

Do you give in to the followers and just not go in God’s direction?

 

Do you go back to God and say, “Which would you prefer that I do? Abandon the followers you’ve given me or abandon this plan?”

 

As God’s servant, you can’t abandon God’s assignments. As a leader of God’s people, you can’t just ditch the people you’ve been given by God. What do you do?

 

Here’s what David did. I find it amazing!

 

When David was told, "Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors," he inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I go and attack these Philistines?"

 

The LORD answered him, "Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah."

 

But David's men said to him, "Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!"

 

Once again David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him, "Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand." So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah. – 1 Samuel 23:1-5

 

David was both a bold follower of the LORD and a gentle leader of his men! He knew what God had said the first time, and he was not willing to stop obeying God. But he also listened to his men’s concerns, and he was not willing to ride roughshod over them. So David responded neither by abandoning the LORD nor by abandoning his men. Instead, David asked God a second time what he should do.

 

It’s not as though David mis-heard God the first time. But he still went back humbly to ask again.

 

And when God gave the same response as before, David was able to go back to his men saying, “God Himself has promised to guard us and give us the victory not just once, but twice! Let’s go!” In the process, he reaffirmed both his commitment to following God and his commitment to responding appropriately to his men’s needs and concerns. And in the end, he was still able to lead the men to follow God.

 

Father, why do we so often feel tempted to choose between You and the people You have given us? Why do we so rarely reaffirm our commitment to both of You the way David did here? Help me to listen to You as a servant should, ready to obey. And help me also to listen to those under my care the way a leader should, with genuine concern for their ideas, feelings, and needs. When the two seem to be in conflict, help me to respond as David did. Help me to reassure the people You have given me to care for that I am concerned for them by willingly saying, “I’ll check with God again.” And help me to always be faithful to Your commands and direction as I hear from You. Thank You for David’s wonderful example here.