The Servant King, the Servant King
He came to lay it down for you, for me
His voice is like fire, His words bring peace
So when our fears
Ring in our ears
There is no better leader than the Servant King.
Some Days come knocking on our door and we just want to stay inside.
Some Days, the news pops up on the screen and our first instinct is to close our eyes.
Some Days, we hear of the danger beyond, and all we want to do is hold our children tight.
Some Days, we realize how lucky we are just to be alive.
Some days like today.
Today, when we look at our leaders, the ones already in place as well as the ones stepping up to the plate, and no one seems fit for the job. No one seems able to lead, to prepare the way, to dig us out of the hole.
Today, when millions of Americans are preparing to go vote, or if they’ve already done so, they’re waiting… waiting on hope, waiting on their worries, waiting on their fears.
Waiting. Waiting to see what will happen. Waiting on a leader.
Let me encourage you, friends… there is Someone worth waiting on.
Someone who is fit to lead, because He came first to serve, to know us, to be one of us. “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
Someone who is preparing the way, because He knew this spinning ball of dirt and water and sin would never really be our true home, anyway. “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:2).
Someone who did dig us out of the pit… a pit so wide and deep and dark that we never could have climbed out ourselves. Not with the tallest ladder and not with the greatest will. But He rescues us… and He didn’t dig us out by calling in a search team. He didn’t rescue us by throwing down a rope. He rescued us by climbing down into the mud and carrying us out on His own great shoulders. He is the only Rescuer throughout history who didn’t try to free a people through shouting, and wars, and fighting over who is right and who is wrong. He is the only Rescuer who laid it all down. The only Rescuer who gave His own life. For you. For me. “I am the good shepherd,” He said. “The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
We wait, we worry, we dread. We watch the predictions. We watch our neighbors. We watch the numbers and the climate and the polls.
We can look at our troubles, we can hold fast our worries, we can give fear free reign in our hearts. Or we can look at Him…
“For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day” (John 6:40).
In the light of such a love, what can fear do but run? “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear…” (1 John 4:18). But just to be clear, friends…
Please don’t take this post as a call to not take human action. I hope we will all vote tomorrow. If you’re involved in politics at a local level, thank you. Of course one of the many blessings of being citizens of this country is that we have a voice, and we have a God-given responsibility to use it. As Christians, mothers, fathers, members of the military, teachers, business owners, caregivers, and lovers of all of God’s good gifts, we hold a great responsibility to plan for the future, to defend the defenseless, to stand up for what’s right and against what is wrong, to be leaders in our communities and to cry out for justice.
No, this isn’t an encouragement to sit back and relax. To twiddle our thumbs at home and pretend that everything is ok outside. If I could speak to all these issues, I would. If I could speak to tomorrow and tell it to bring peace, I would. But tomorrow has a mind of its own.
And regardless of what tomorrow decides, I want to remember…
That today we may drown in our worries, but tomorrow, He will still be good.
Tomorrow, He will still be in control.
Tomorrow, He will still love us.
Tomorrow, He will still be a Leader worth waiting on.
At the end of this day, and at the end of tomorrow, at the end of every day to come, the days when we feel paralyzed by fear, the days when this spinning rock in the sky feels even less like home, the days when we forget to trust…
I will look at the Cross. In the face of such a love… what is there to be afraid of?
Because tomorrow… He will still be the Servant King.
Artist credit: Ben Anderson.
Trusting Him Today and Tomorrow, Together,
Laura Jane