Hibernating Ministers IV

And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt. And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD. (1 Samuel 24: 5, 6)

We are still on the wounded and bleeding ministers, most of whose injuries were caused by their spiritual superiors and mentors.

Today I want us to look at the path to healing by dealing with the first reality we must accept to be able to access God’s healing.

Saul had raised the best battalion to hunt down and kill David, and his men if they resisted. They then go around to strategically plan the ambush. In the course of time, Saul responds to the call of nature and retreats to a secluded den away from the eyes of his troop.

But it happens to be a huge cave, a cave where David’s men are hiding.

David’s men get very excited. They even become very spiritual.

This is the breakthrough you have been waiting for. This is the answer to the prayers you have been praying. This is the manifestation of God’s promise.

Imagine a defenseless enemy!

Somehow David, even in the confusion I suspect he was in, was unable to harm Saul. He crept near enough to just cut a piece of his garment.

Saul leaves without knowing or even suspecting anything had happened.

But David gets convicted, with intense guilt. Because of letting his enemy go free? Of course not. He is guilty of cutting a piece of the king’s cloth.

Why does God convict him of cutting just a piece of Saul’s cloth yet Saul was looking for him to destroy him?

This is the first point we ought to remember in our heart. We are supposed to respect God’s structures with all we have. The fact that you are hurting does not open the way for you to unclothe a leader God has placed over you, however rotten they may be.

You see, all leadership proceeds from God. From the good to the rotten, from the legitimate to the stolen. And that is why we are instructed to pray for the leadership God has allowed to be over us.

I have just gotten to understand an order God gave me when I was also bleeding from hurt, betrayal and outright cruelty.

I had the hard evidence, from commitment letters to minutes of meetings that I thought to take the evidence to court to at least find a way of taking my family from the dire straits it was in.

God told me to forget about fighting for myself.

God did not want me to expose ministers, uncover their nakedness, however badly they had treated me.

I remember a few times God has told me to burn letters that had brought me enough heartache. Obedience to that brought about the healing. Holding on to the evidence of the hurt meant that I was still preserving the evidence, probably to use against the offenders when opportunity presents itself.

God will deal with the people leading the structures He has ordained. And He does it very ably. He does not need our feeble effort, especially when we are in so much pain.

We can use scripture-ordained methods of confronting them. That is what David did. He treated Saul with the respect his office required. And the Bible has clear guidelines on how to deal with error from an elder, for example.

I reiterate that for our healing to happen, we must let go of our hurts and recognize that the ones who hurt us occupy a position ordained by God and only God has the authority to deal with him/ her.

I will next week talk about another pivotal reality we must face to reconnect to our potency in life and ministry.