Kingdom At Work
In the story of Samuel anointing David as King, Samuel was determined to partner with God in finding the one who would rule His people after King Saul had failed. Showing up to Jesse’s house, Samuel began looking for the new king, starting with the firstborn son. Going down the line, one by one, Samuel heard from the Lord that none of the presented sons of Jesse were to be the next king.
“Samuel was blunt with Jesse, ‘God hasn’t chosen any of these.’ Then he asked Jesse, ‘Is this it? Are there no more sons?’
‘Well, yes, there’s the runt. But he’s out tending the sheep.’
Samuel ordered Jesse, ‘Go get him. We’re not moving from this spot until he’s here.’
Jesse sent for him. He (David) was brought in, the very picture of health—bright-eyed, good-looking.
God said, ‘Up on your feet! Anoint him! This is the one.’
Samuel took his flask of oil and anointed him, with his brothers standing around watching. The Spirit of God entered David like a rush of wind, God vitally empowering him for the rest of his life.”
-1 Samuel 16:10-13 The Message
God saw something in David that nobody else saw, and because Samuel was hearing from God, he was able to see it too and call him into it.
This is the essence of committing to a relational style of leadership: knowing a person more over time so that you are able to partner with God in their growth.
What does this look like in your day-to-day? How can you implement this with your employees? You can look at this a couple of ways:
- Shoulder to Shoulder: engage with your people in their work. The work is their mission, and they are your mission. Don’t get that backwards or you’ll miss connecting with your team.
- Heart to Heart: care for your team as whole people… that means professional, personal, and spiritual. If you can’t name 2-3 things going on in someone’s personal life, can you actually say you know them?
When you begin to know someone and hear from the Lord over their life, it is at that moment you will truly see who God is forming them into. Now your job is to grow them.
Helping people grow requires you to partner with God in who they are becoming and resist the urge to push them toward your own idea of who they should become.
Don’t get this backward. Can you imagine if Samuel wasn’t asking God who should be king? He likely would have picked the wrong son for the job.
Be thankful that God sees you like he saw David, and extend the same honor to those on your team. As you see the greatness begin to immerge, call it out and celebrate it every time. God will likely use YOU to empower others into their true identities.
Cal Zant, President of Betenbough Homes, sums this up well: “Our responsibility is to ask God how we can love them best. This is not about saving people. Only God saves. Our job is to love people in authentic relationship and to be obedient to whatever part God has for us to play in their story.”