Serving under your Saul

But then a black mood from God settled over Saul and took control of him. He was sitting at home, his spear in his hand, while David was playing music. Suddenly, Saul tried to skewer David with his spear, but David ducked. The spear stuck in the wall and David got away. It was night.
1 Samuel 19:9-10

Why would God allow us to be under abusive leaders? I was thinking about this today. I remembered a book that a wise mentor of mine gave me almost ten years ago by Gene Edwards, called A Tale of Three Kings. It's a book about Saul, David, and Absolom. It's a book about brokenness in leaders. Saul was rapidly installed into office, but David not only had to wait scores of years, but he was running for his life much of the time. Why did God do this to the man after his own heart? What an internship. Talk about a prophetic word being tested.

David had something on him when God called him through Samuel. David had great skill and bold bravery when he killed Goliath and later led armies to many victories. But what did David gain through all the abuse from Saul over many years? What did he learn and how was he transformed through the trials? The answers to these questions will I hope give us some comfort as we face abuse from people who have authority over us in our lives. May God give us grace and meekness.


Comments