Kings…We All Want to Be One – Part 1
Have you ever wanted to be in charge of something? Sure you have, not really a fair or realistic question. We have all desired to be in charge and we have all made decisions in our lives like we were the king. But, what does it mean to be a king? What are kings supposed to do? Why are some kings good and others bad? Let’s take a moment and study the life of a king we can all learn from and, hopefully, emulate in our lives.
When I read through the books of 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles, it is littered with kings who were evil, power hungry warlords. They cared more about their own comfort and their names being glorified, rather than the name of the Lord being exalted. Each chapter the kings seem to get worse and worse, with a few random rays of light found throughout. That is until you get to the man who tried to change everything.
King Hezekiah was one of the greatest kings the Israelite people saw. He cared about God’s people, God’s Word and achieving God’s will. He was a man we could all learn from and strive to be like. Over the next few days, we will learn three truths about how to be a great leader.
The first truth about King Hezekiah’s leadership was that he was a man of vision. We read in 2 Chronicles 29 that the first thing Hezekiah did when he became King was to repair the Temple and to reinstitute worship of the Living God. It was in this place that many had sought God and it was in this place where evil kings executed their evil. For years the Israelites had not worshipped in this place, but that was all going to change. Hezekiah had vision. He knew why he had become king and he knew that to fulfill his ultimately calling in life, he needed to be faithful to the vision God had given him.
How about you? Do you know what vision God has given you? Do you know why you are in the location you are in, doing the job that you are doing? If you don’t know the vision God has for you, try a few simple things. One, write down your passions. What energizes you and excites you? Two, write down your giftings and strengths. What are you good at? Three, write down who your heart breaks for. When you see the orphans, the widows, the homeless, the rich, the poor…who breaks your heart?
Based on your answers to these questions, try to find something in your area, whether in your church or in another organization, where you can allow your passion to flow through your giftings to minister to the people your heart breaks for. This ultimately will help you achieve vision in your life and know who God has put you here to serve and minister to.