The Heart of a Leader: Lessons From the Life of David Exemplo

Day Two — Authenticity

The tale of David and Goliath is pretty popular. Even if you didn’t grow up in church, chances are you’re familiar with this Biblical underdog story. 

What’s interesting about this story isn’t the fact that David won against a giant — it’s how he won. 

Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around because he was not used to them. ‘I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off.  (v. 38)

To Saul’s credit, he did try to help David out by letting David use his armor. But David refused Saul’s armor because he knew it wasn’t made for him

When we as leaders try to lead exactly like someone else, it looks and feels off. And even if it works for a season, it won’t be sustainable because those gifts and talents were never yours in the first place.

David understood that in order to defeat Goliath, he had to use the gifts God gave him, not what others told him would or wouldn’t work. And David didn’t just practice patience while he was waiting with the sheep to become king — he worked while he waited with what he had, which was a sling and stone.

Whether you’re leading your peers or the next generation, God wants you to lead from a place of authenticity — where you’re using the unique gifts and experiences that God placed in your life. Don’t discount what God has given you in this season and how He can use it in the next. 

Where have you been trying to walk in a calling that’s not yours? Spend some quiet time with God. Ask Him to show you the gifts He specifically gave to you and ways to use them.