Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the ephod." Abiathar brought it to him, and David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?"
"Pursue them," he answered. "You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue."

David and the six hundred men with him came to the Besor Ravine, where some stayed behind, for two hundred men were too exhausted to cross the ravine. But David and four hundred men continued the pursuit.

~ 1 Samuel 30:3-10 ~

You see, David was the leader who led all these people to victory and he was about to face his biggest leadership challenge to date. All along, he had the support of his people, and his mighty man. But suddenly when they got back stabbed and things doesn't go their way, he lost the widespread support of his people when their base got plundered and their wives and children were captured.

Many people remember David for the David and Goliath incident but i really love this part. I thought it really showed his mantle and what he was made of. Let's look deeper into the situation.

1) When David was facing Goliath, he had the support of all the people. Saul even put his armour on him to commission him. But this time round, he didn't have any "human" support.

2) All along, along the way, whatever crisis, David had someone with him. Even when Saul tried to kill him, jonathon was with him. But David faced a total rebellion this time round.

3) It was like excuse me, it was as though it was totally David's fault that they lost their wives and children. But David would not go into the blame game as the rest did as it will not lead to anything. He quickly picked himself up to find a solution to the problem.

4) David lost his wives and children as well eh. Those people who wanted to stone him were not the only ones who lost something. David had to put aside his anguish and lead the people. The last thing the situation needed was for David to break down.

5) The chase was another amazing part. Just when they needed the most leadership, David provided it. He did not allow insecurities about how others looked at him, about how others have wanted to stone him nvm respect him to stop him from getting the best for his people. He was smart, sharp and decisive. What a leader!!!

I was just so amazed at David. Can you imagine yourself going through it? Sometimes the devil will drop the thoughts like "If you don't trust me, there is no point in me leading you", "Why do i have to serve so hard when my leader does not believe in me". "Am i the only idiot who believe that this vision can come to pass? Why have all my friends deserted me?", "Why is my caregroup so against my leadership, is there something wrong with me?", "Why is my leader not entrusting anything to me?", "My people does not seem to respect me." And the list goes on. In times when the group is down and they rebel against your leadership, the last thing they need is for the leader to break down. You'll really prove what they say is true.

So what did David do? He seeked God, he rose to the occasion and he led the people by the authority of God, and he did whatever was necessary to get things right. Very often, when our people rebel, or bite us, there is often a bigger underlying evil behind. Like when they rebelled the bigger evil was the Amalekites. David knew his enemy was not those rebels, it was the Amalekites and he knew his commander is not those rebelling people but it was God.

Amazing right? Leaders remember this. If criticism of us is accurate, we take it in our stride and we change. If the criticism is not accurate, we don't let it affect us, move on., and resolve it with the person it came from.

Don't let the whole idea of pleasing man and having support from others take over your leadership. That is when the leaders killer will come in and take your spiritual life away.

If that is your call from God, nobody can take it away from you.

Regards,

Jie Hui