Issue #247, December 12, 2018
Can a great leader be confused? Leaders usually act with confidence and seem to know the direction to go. But all of us have faced situations in which the way forward was not very clear. David was a great leader, but experienced confusion and often cried out to God for direction and guidance.
4Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths. 5Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. 6Remember, LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. 7Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you, LORD, are good…. 15My eyes are ever on the LORD, for only he will release my feet from the snare. 16Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. 17Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish. 18Look on my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins. 19See how numerous are my enemies and how fiercely they hate me! 20Guard my life and rescue me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. 21May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, LORD, is in you. 22Deliver Israel, O God, from all their troubles! (Psalm 25:4-7; 15-22)
We don’t know for certain the situation David was in when he wrote this psalm. He refers to the sins of his youth, so this must have been written later in his leadership, perhaps as he was fleeing from his son Absalom. Whatever the situation, his many requests for God to teach and guide him indicate that he was in a place of confusion and uncertainty.
Confusion should be recognized.
David cries out to God, “Show me your ways….Guide me in your truth….” David is admitting that he is confused and doesn’t know the right direction. He refers to the sins of his youth, perhaps recalling his sin with Bathsheba (see 2 Samuel 11). These memories from his past may have been a source of his confusion so he cries out again for God’s mercy and love as he recognizes his confusion.
Many leaders find it very difficult to admit that they are confused. Their identity may be tied to their ability to give answers and to show others the way forward. So, it is painful to acknowledge, even to themselves, that they are unsure of the right direction. Servant leaders learn to recognize confusion and to acknowledge that all humans experience confusion!
Confusion should be revealed.
David is open to everyone about his need for direction, revealing it even to us who read it centuries later! Many leaders feel that it is a sign of weakness to reveal confusion or uncertainty. So they may choose to hide it or pretend that it is not there, at least until the way forward is clear. This does not mean that we should stand and announce to everyone, “I am confused!”
But servant leaders seek wise counsel from God and others when they are confused. They look for friends who can hear their confusion and provide direction or help. Servant leaders don’t panic when they are confused; they recognize it and reveal it. They realize that this emotion is a part of being human and therefore limited in knowledge and wisdom. They cry out to God for guidance, share their confusion with trusted friends, and expect that in time, the way forward will become clear.
Confusion should be restrained.
Confusion makes it difficult to lead! The uncertainty can lead to inaction. At the end of this psalm, David turns his attention away from his own emotion back to the nation he is leading. He says, “Deliver Israel, O God, from all their troubles!”
Servant leaders learn to restrain their confusion so that it doesn’t keep them from moving forward with the people God has given them to lead. They recognize the emotion and keep leading!
For further reflection and discussion:
Identify a situation from your past in which you were confused as a leader. Reflect on that experience by answering the following questions.
- How did I process that emotion?
- Did I recognize my confusion at the time?
- Was I able to reveal it to others appropriately or did I hide it from others?
- Was my confusion a result of previous sins in any way? If so, have I confessed and repented of those sins?
- Was I able to continue leading when I was confused?
- What would I do differently after learning from David’s story?