DEVIATIONS IN LEADERSHIP
Royalty by Loyalty Footstool Devotional
Tuesday, 16th January, 2024
Read 1 Kings 16:1-6
1 Kings 16:2 KJV - Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel; and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins;
Leadership is key. It’s all that God has got to reach a people. When God raises you up as a leader over His people, He expects so much from you, because you are all He’s got as a clear representative of Himself to a people who cannot see Him clearly.
A leader’s function is to obey God and transmit His words and influence to the people He stands before. God invests a lot in leadership. You can see that when He got disappointed in Israel's King Baasha, he referred to how much He worked hard to raise Baasha from the dust and elevate Him into kingship over His people. It was the same with Jerobaoam too- the Lord regretted how He spent so much of His energy and anointing to elevate Him in the first place. Do not think God has forgotten all the good things He has been doing for you to help give you a lift in life. All those things are costly investments in the eyes of God, so do not take them for granted, grow up and start messing around like someone who has not been properly brought up.
God spends so many hours and days and years speaking to and working on a person’s heart and life right from scratch, from a setting of very humble and dirty beginnings (dust), just like a parent spends so much to raise a child from a tiny thing into graceful adulthood. And when eventually He is convinced that He has a masterpiece in His hand, He sets that person(you) in front of His earthly people to rule and to bring down His heavenly Kingdom to bear in the earth.
Unfortunately, God has been experiencing losses with these lifetime investments of His. Not everyone God faithfully raises out of nothing into something prominent stays faithful to God when they get to the top. These count for big losses in the Kingdom of God. The sad part is that God not only loses His investment in you as a faithful leader but also, He is forced to cut off your children ( posterity) from leadership and nobility altogether.
1 Kings 14:7 KJV - Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Forasmuch as I EXALTED THEE FROM AMONG THE PEOPLE, and made thee prince over my people Israel...
It is therefore very important for us to stay faithful to allowing God to lead His people through us when we become parents, pastors, teachers, or any other kind of leader. Never use any position to exalt yourself instead of God before the people. Otherwise like Baasha and Jeroboam (1 Kings 14: 7-11), you cause God to regret His hardwork in you over the years, and He’ll disfavour you and your generations. Eschew deviations in leadership. Remain faithful and loyal to God’s leadership all through your lifetime, even more especially, when you become older.
Prayer: Dear Lord, I thank You for all your Word spoken to me over the years. Please help me remain faithful to your gift of gentle and generous upbringing in my life. I bind evil spirits that cause me to be offended in you and to therefore choose my own way instead of yours, in Jesus mighty name. Amen.
If you ain’t loyal, then you ain’t royal.
Anastasia Bruce
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