Memo 1078: Accessible

We have been looking at what it will take for you to thrive on the throne God gives you as we study David's life as king. By way of reminder, your throne is whatever your life purpose leads you to do. As it leads you, you will then lead others because there's no one who can do what you do like you do and it will eventually attract people who recognize your abilities.

That certainly proved true in David's life, for he had many loyal followers who often risked their lives to carry out his orders. However, when David sinned with Bathsheba, God took away his sin but promised that problems would never depart from his family and household. One of David's biggest family problems turned out to be his son, Absalom, who we will look at the next few weeks. Let's start this week.

AN AUDIENCE WITH THE KING

When Absalom took revenge and killed a man who had raped his sister, he had to flee from the kingdom because his father, King David, was furious. Then, even though David longed to see Absalom, he didn't know how to allow him to come back in light of what he had done. Therefore, David's general, Joab, came up with a plan that would give the king a way to receive his son back into the favor of his presence:

Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king’s heart longed for Absalom. So Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don’t use any cosmetic lotions. Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead.Then go to the king and speak these words to him.” And Joab put the words in her mouth. When the woman from Tekoa went to the king, she fell with her face to the ground to pay him honor, and she said, “Help me, Your Majesty!" (2 Samuel 14:1-4).

We won't take the time to read the entire story, but feel free to do so yourself. What I want to focus on is that the king was accessible to his people. We saw earlier how Nathan the prophet could approach the throne and now we read that this woman could also come before the king, tell him another parable, and get through to the king that he needed to relent and allow Absalom to come home.

It seems remarkable that the king of Israel would set up his day so that his subjects could meet with him face to face. As the woman unfolded her fictitious story and said someone could give her a difficult time if she did what the king was suggesting, David said, "If anyone says anything to you, bring them to me, and they will not bother you again” (2 Samuel 14:10). Not only did the woman have an audience with David, she was instructed to come back if anyone hassled her. What can we learn from this that will help us make the most of our time on our throne?

FAST FORWARD

Like Moses, David was available to his people to give counsel and help settle disputes. His son Solomon was the same as we learn from the famous incident of the two women who came before him, both claiming to be the mother of the same baby. Now let's fast forward to the New Testament, and we will see that these Old Testament prophets and kings were simply pointing ahead to King Jesus, the most accessible of them all.

Jesus lived among the people as one of them, with no clothing or title that set Him apart from the others. When He began His public ministry, He refused to stay in one place, but traveled to many areas to maximize His contact with as many people as possible. Often He had to teach in open fields to accommodate the large crowds who walked for days, sat for days, and then walked home for days just for the chance to hear the gracious words that came from His lips.

His opponents could interrupt His sermons and dispute His claims. Children could approach Him for a hug, and sick people could touch Him and be made well without fear that they were contaminating Him. Famous teachers could come visit him at night, and centurions and Samaritans could talk to Him and not be concerned that they would be sent away or rebuked. Yes, the King of glory was (and still is) accessible to all, and now He expects you and me to be the same. If we want to maximize our time on our own throne, then we must make ourselves available to people to answer their questions, share our gifts, and meet their needs.

Are you accessible? Do you make your wisdom and time available to others? Do you use social media to share your insights and testimonies? Do you look for ways to make it easy for people to "touch" you? Or do you worship at the altar of privacy, shielding yourself from people and their mess?

God put you on the throne of your purpose for the benefit of others and your job is to find ways to connect with as many of those "others" as possible. As you do, you will be following in the footsteps of some great leaders like David and Solomon who were pointing the way to the One who would become the King of Accessibility. Have a blessed week.