Even while I travel through the most difficult times of life I can’t be afraid, because you are right here next to me. Your power and provision allow me to relax. (Psalm 23:4)
Is it your way to tell your people what they
must do, and how they must do it? Could they ever come to see you as someone
who talks “at” them rather than with them? Everyone, whatever their
circumstances or status, wants to be listened to; moreover, they want to be heard.
From your position of relative strength or wisdom or resources, will you walk
with them even when it means you must walk through their difficulty without
solving or their problems or fixing them? Are you willing to let it cost you to
be used as God’s sign for another?
King David had some very dark, difficult
times. He trusted God to calm his fears and go with him through all those
challenges. If you are to be God’s sign to your people, it is unlikely that He
will change His nature to accommodate your desire to stay in your position of
comfort and safety. And, by the way, your people do not want you to tell them
what they should do from that lofty position. If you are going to talk with
them, you must go to them – where they are.