S220P5 – Signs of a king: under good counsel

2 Kgs. 11:21-12:2

Jehoash was seven years old when he began to reign. In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. And Jehoash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all his days, because Jehoiada the priest instructed him.

Every person who takes on a leadership position must be a problem solver. The point of leadership is to bring direction that reaches certain results. Along the way to those results, there might be many paths from which to choose. Some leaders will consult with a team or a board to help make those decisions. Others will have a single point person who gives advice at crucial moments. Still others will decide to go it alone and make these decisions unilaterally because they expect to have all the answers. The scriptures make it clear for us that good, godly leadership as exhibited by a good, godly king will rely on wise counsel from the godly just as Jehoash did.

At a minimum, those who want to fulfill their royal duties for the Lord in an honorable manner will consult with him.  None of us does anything great on our own from our own strength or wisdom.  We will have to make decisions, and the choices might not be easy to discern from one another.  We must at least consult with God, but we would be wise to consult with other discerning saints as well.  Jehoash was the King of Judah, but he also allowed himself to be led by someone he could trust spiritually because his work was godly work, not worldly work.  He was a king with a spiritual agenda whose work carried spiritual implications, and we are the same in this regard.  We will need wise counsel to be good and faithful servants of the Lord’s.

To be effective leaders, we must be able to follow the wise lead of others.  Before we can do that, we must accept that God designed us to seek and yield to the counsel of those who are wiser.  After all, we are a united body of believers.  Not one of us is an island operating alone.  No matter the office God gives you, you will need wise counsel from others to administer it well.  Those around you who carry greater wisdom are there to raise you and help advance you in your kingdom work.  Do what even the great and wise King Jehoash did, and use that resource wisely.  Father, make it clear from whom we should seek the wise counsel we need to complete your kingdom work well.