I recently decided I would not follow the news as closely as I had been. I realized staying in the know had taken on a different dimension, and had moved me from being informed to being transformed. I could start my day with a prayerful attitude to accompany my cup of coffee, yet mere minutes later my mind could be racing in an entirely different, and negative direction. I let an outside source lead me away from the mindset I thought I had chosen to start my day. As usual, I arrived late to the truth and realization that the mindset I thought I had chosen for the day, I really wasn’t committed to it. Follow through is usually the place I stumble. I continually face the challenge of staying with God-led thoughts and actions.
If you are reading this, it might mean you are following the Facebook page of the 5 o’clock worker. In addition to a few cooking, musical, and home improvement/landscaping pages, I also follow a lot of people in ministry and other writers. For me, following these pages means I frequently tune in to catch their latest headlines. While scrolling, I filter out the things that I am not interested in, or what doesn’t apply to me, and move on. The meaning of what I call ‘followship’ has morphed into something casual and perimeter like. Likewise, if I take a look at the meaning of ‘leadership’, I find the definition of that might have changed as well.
Leadership is a great quality to possess and a commodity sought after in all ranks of life, from the playground to the boardroom. Our society holds leadership in high esteem and has come up with several flavors of pursuing its development: Business courses, life coaches, best sellers. Within our churches and ministries we have targeted strategies to groom, refine, and implement leadership. Why? One of the biggest reasons is this: Where leadership is sound and effective, morale and productivity increases.
But the definition of leadership has increasingly become about as casual as my ‘followship’ definition.
I live in an atmosphere of leadership that often encourages me to do as they say, and not as they do. I am constantly disappointed by the moral and social failures of sports and entertainment icons. While I am commanded by God to be a respectful citizen of integrity, I find myself increasingly skeptical of officials, wary that their promise of new leadership will be compromised by a variety of influences long before they even have the official power to actually lead me.
When I consider David the Psalmist, I see in him a great example of leadership, but more importantly of one who understood ‘followship.’ I can see where David’s human free will met up with God’s grace and leadership, this allowed David to experience victory and fulfill his purpose in his faith walk with God
This can be true for you and me as well. God loves leading us, and He loves when we follow Him. In Genesis 22, God called Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac (If you are not familiar with the story I encourage to you read it). It is an account filled with leadership, ‘followship’, and obedience. After solely following God, Abraham would go on to fulfill the purpose God had ordained and promised for him: that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky: a great nation would come from his family line. (Gen 26:14) I take note that the scripture doesn’t record that ole Abe’ had to bar himself in his prayer closet, or consult a council of Christian friends to make his choice about the sacrifice of Isaac. He simply followed through with what God had asked him to do. I am not saying we shouldn’t pray or seek counsel, but too often I get stuck in the process and delay, or don’t respond to Gods leading me. I just don’t follow.
By the time the challenge of the sacrifice had come, God had led Abraham for many years, and Abe followed Him. Abraham didn’t understand all of what God was doing, but he trusted that God would bring a successful outcome to the day. Why? He just believed God would. He knew the Leader. The same is true of David’s life, as we have countless history, experiences and accounts to read throughout scripture. From the moment of his call to be King, until his final days, through all of it he proclaimed God to be a trustworthy leader in his life. This causes me to examine my trust factor in God’s leadership. If I am honest before God, the doubting Psalmist in me wonders will His intentions to lead me as David phrased, “beside still waters” be to my liking? I like to follow God, but I also like looking at the map!
In South Carolina, still waters can take on the characteristics of a swamp: Stagnant, mosquito ridden, less inviting and filling the air with the odor of pluff mud. However, despite its swamps, South Carolina offers panoramic views of the low country marshes full of beautiful colors, spectacular sunsets and wildlife. Despite being still, the marsh is refreshed and changed by the ebb and flow of the tides. This paints a more inviting picture in my mind of the still waters God has for me. A great analogy for the life following him offers; Beautiful, peaceful, full of life and refreshed daily. But then I think of running waters I left behind in Michigan. Clear blue rivers, cool and oh yes more exciting, Because its moving on, going places, right? However, I might consider that swift currents pose as a greater danger of things being swept away. This may include ideas, dreams, and relationships. The temptations I face can sweep away my convictions and undermine my resolve to follow God. Before too long, if I am not careful, I am a good distance downstream from God’s plan and purpose for me —often in treacherous waters that can harm me and can even rob me of my reputation and my life.
This reminds me of my childhood days swimming in the backwaters from Norris Dam in Tennessee. One minute what looked like a refreshing swim could turn into a fight for staying afloat in an overtaking undertow if you were not careful. On the surface you couldn’t judge the temperament or the status of the waters. Circumstances in life can be a lot like this. I have misjudged a number of times and had to call on God to rescue me. I learned… sometimes… the hard way. God is the greatest discerner of the waters we face, the ultimate depth finder. He can see below the surface from His vantage point and will not lead me into harm.
In the recent days of what as often felt like a tsunami of bad news and stress, I have felt myself longing for a little more ‘still water’. Still water, Peaceful pools, restful banks on bodies of water that are filled with the living water like Jesus promised to the woman at the well. Water that satisfies and fills. No big waves, no dangerous undertow, just peaceful stillness.
Stillness is more than cessation of activity though that helps. It is more than Quarantine. I learned I could be confined and remain unstill. I have had to ask myself, who and what am I following? What is responsible for the Niagara Falls of emotions and pessimism I am sometimes facing? Media? Politics? Causes? Religion? Opinions of well-intentioned friends? My own will? Jesus stated more than 20 times in the four gospels, “Follow Me.” This confirms leadership is personal. It also convicts me that followship is as well. I must be committed to following Christs’ leadership in all my circumstances. A loving relationship with Him can lead me out of my selfishness and into a deeper love for Him and others. Through His word, He can direct me away from worrisome sources and guide me to assurances and confidences I need to face in daily life. He can bring me out of a self-incriminating perspective about a past and inspire me with hope and optimism for a bright future, even if the sky is dark and the sun isn’t shining. Out of this discovery, I am learning moment by moment to say yes to where He leads me. As David conveys that God leads him to and beside still waters, the confession David makes next is beyond a doubt the most poignant of the Psalm itself.
-Sharon, The 5 o’clock worker
5oclockworker.com 