Focus 2020 – The Great Commission: Perspectives from LeadersSample

Releasing Control 

Bible passage: 

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. (Psalm 131) 

Devotional: 

There are moments or even seasons when it is clear to us that we are not in control. As we mature in life, most of us realize, on a growing measure, that we are in control of much less than we had previously thought. A cancer diagnosis. A friend’s betrayal. A child in university walks away from faith. A marriage is strained beyond what we thought would be possible. A loss of a loved one. And last, by not least, a pandemic. And by the way, lest you think these are far-off events, I have had the privilege of walking with various friends in the last month for whom all these things have been true. Perhaps you too are dealing with such issues right now.

In Psalm 131, David models three principles that are incredibly applicable for us, especially those in leadership: 

1. Acknowledge before God that we are not as strong as we think we are (verse 1).  

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.  (Note: the phrase “too great and too marvelous for me” refers to that which is “too difficult for me to understand.”) 

Rich Mullins wrote in a song that we are not as strong as we think we are. His words reflect the heart of David as he wrote Psalm 131:1: 

We are frail, we are fearfully and wonderfully made, 

Forged in the fires of human passion, choking on the fumes of selfish rage, 

Between our hells and our heavens so few inches apart, 

We must be awfully small and not as strong as we think we are. 

2. Calm our soul in reflection and prayer (verse 2). 

But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. (Note: The picture David is presenting is one of a child that is at rest in the lap of its mother, not grasping or demanding.) 

3. Call our team to hope in the only One who can help (verse 3). 

O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. (Note: Turn those we lead to the Lord Himself, the only One in whom true and lasting hope is found.) 

David’s response for his own anxious soul is an excellent model for us. One exercise to apply this is to pray through each step when we find ourselves and our friends in need. Fill your personal name in the blank:  O ______, hope in the Lord from THIS time forth and forevermore. 

Quote: “It is sweet to be nothing and less than nothing that Christ may be all in all.” – David Brainard 

Question: In what ways do I need to release control in my leadership over others and not feel threatened by that?  

Donnie Scearce 

CEO, Pioneers - Canada