Leadership From The Ground UpSample

Revealing Foundations

It’s time that we as leaders reframe failures. It’s time that we make a choice to view difficult situations through the lens of hope and possibility. After all, struggles and tension can refine and strengthen our understanding of God’s love and who He created us to be as loved sons and daughters.

However…if your identity is built primarily upon what you think YOU can accomplish, what YOU do, what YOU can achieve, then tough times can shatter your confidence. Oh, you might be able to maintain a tough, professional exterior through it all, but inside, if you have built a fake altar of confidence in your own successes and achievements, it will ultimately crumble (and most likely your peace along with it).

But for those of us who hope in Jesus Christ, we have a foundation that never needs to be rebuilt because it never crumbles. Our resiliency, or “bounce-back” factor, is never in question because it flows from who He is rather than how strong we are.  

The stories of Saul and David’s journeys to leadership can teach us quite a bit about how our foundations can be developed and how they are revealed.  

Saul was in every way the most likely choice for Israel’s first king. He was tall, handsome, and a fighter from an accomplished family. He was literally the full package. Or at least he appeared to be the full package on the outside.

When it comes time to announce Saul as Israel’s anointed king, the people can’t find him. The Lord finally calls him out as hiding in the bushes. Hiding.

Can you identify with Saul? Have you ever hidden from a call to a new path or opportunity that wasn’t what you expected?

Interestingly (and in stark contrast to Saul’s successor, David), we don’t have much of a written record on Saul and God’s relationship. In many ways, that absence speaks volumes to us about Saul’s dependence (or lack thereof) on God. Saul’s interactions and conversations with God are largely hidden from us. In contrast, David’s passionate and deep relationship with God is captured all through the book of Psalms. David was constantly found pouring his heart out to God as his Maker and Friend, both privately and publicly. 

Our words also matter. They reveal what our thoughts and attitudes are focused on. They reveal what our faith is rooted in. When Saul stepped out of his hiding place, he opened his mouth and the cracks in his inner foundation began to show. 

For a guy who had the physical look and commanding presence of being Israel’s king, Saul’s early words and actions start to reveal a man who saw himself based on who he thought he was, potentially who he thought others expected him to be, and certainly not through the perspective of an all-powerful and grace-filled God. God called Saul to be Israel’s first King, and Saul called himself insignificant and small. The gap between Saul’s perspective and God’s perspective was immense.

This gap was the root of Saul’s problem. It is often the root of our own problems. If you call yourself something other than what God calls you, you will ultimately shift the foundation of your faith to a place that will crack and crumble under the weight of a struggle.  

By the time David comes on the scene and enters into Saul’s direct service, after his victory over Goliath, God had already decided that Saul wasn’t going to stay the King of Israel for long. Time and time again, Saul relied on the foundation of his own strength instead of God’s. His misplaced confidence continued to shatter with each misstep.

David, the next God-appointed King of Israel, starts his journey by watching Saul fall to pieces. What a tough, but incredibly powerful real-time development lesson to go through!

Leadership Action: 

• Spend some time with God to ask for His guidance in remaining rooted in Him. Ask Him to show you any areas in your life where you are trying to succeed in your own strength and confidence. As you find these areas, ask Him for help in surrendering those spaces to His guidance and direction. Seek out wise mentors and advisors that can provide honest feedback and guidance for when you are misplacing your confidence in your own abilities. Remember that when you ask with your whole heart, you will find Him.