A GRACEFUL EXIT
DAY 160: The British journalist, Malcolm Muggeridge, once wrote, "Few men of action have been able to make a graceful exit at the appropriate time." Looking at history, I think he is right. People who get involved can never seem to find the right time to get uninvolved - at least from their perspective. Being influential can often lead a person to feel indispensable - a fate far more likely when no effort has been made to pass the baton of wisdom so that others can carry their share.
But sooner or later, graceful or not, exits occur. We exit from jobs, from day to day parenting, from ministries, from organizations, and eventually from life itself. Only those who have given some thought to the exit before its time will be able to go gracefully. The rest will be like that guy in the movies who everyone thinks is dead, but he keeps reviving to say just one more thing. By the end of his multiple resurrections, everyone around him is shouting "just die already!" Sadly, we all know people who have stayed around in other ways long past graceful until we want to shout "just go already!" Oh, how I would hate for that to be me.
Maybe because another birthday is not far off, I am thinking ahead to the day I will make my eventual exit. In light of that, I appreciate the example David set. Even though he was appointed king for life by God, this man of action knew when the appropriate time had come to go and because he was intentional and prepared, he may have made the world's most graceful exit.
Well into his reign, when God showed David that it would be his son Solomon who would build the Temple of the Lord, it must have been a fresh reminder of the order of things. David may have been king, but he served God; and the next king after him would serve God. God's rule was eternal, David's was finite. From that point on, the scriptures record how David began to put in place everything that would be needed for a smooth transition to God's next king.
1 Chronicles 29:3 Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple:
4. . . Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?”
6 Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly. 9 The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord.
10 David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly
David's final public act as leader was praising the Lord. He had served God well. He left a nation prosperous and at peace. Though he could have clung to power until his death, he knew when to exit in a way that would be best for those he was leaving. And because he had prepared everyone, including himself, for his exit, it was graceful indeed.
22 Then they acknowledged Solomon son of David as king a second time, anointing him before the Lord to be ruler and Zadok to be priest. 23 So Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king in place of his father David. He prospered and all Israel obeyed him. 24 All the officers and warriors, as well as all of King David’s sons, pledged their submission to King Solomon.25 The Lord highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him royal splendor such as no king over Israel ever had before.
David retired but God did not; He continued to bless His people and His work - He alone is indispensable.
But what of David? How is it that he could release his position so gracefully when many before and after him could not? David himself gives the explanation for His graceful exit in the words he wrote in Psalm 16:
9 No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice.
My body rests in safety.
10 For you will not leave my soul among the dead
or allow your holy one to rot in the grave.
11 You will show me the way of life,
granting me the joy of your presence
and the pleasures of living with you forever.
David was convinced that his legacy did not lie here on earth, but in the hands of God with whom he would live forever. He did not struggle with passing the baton, leaving the scene, and giving someone else the spotlight. He might have been expendable on earth, but not in heaven. David knew his inheritance was not a dynasty here, but a home there. So why not let go when God says the time is right?
Lord, let me be a faithful person of action with everything you put in my care for as long as you show me I'm needed. Then Lord let me release it graciously to those you have chosen to follow so that I am free to follow you. "You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever!"
1 Chronicles 28
1 Chronicles 29
Romans 5:6-21
Psalm 15
Psalm 16
Proverbs 19:18-19
But sooner or later, graceful or not, exits occur. We exit from jobs, from day to day parenting, from ministries, from organizations, and eventually from life itself. Only those who have given some thought to the exit before its time will be able to go gracefully. The rest will be like that guy in the movies who everyone thinks is dead, but he keeps reviving to say just one more thing. By the end of his multiple resurrections, everyone around him is shouting "just die already!" Sadly, we all know people who have stayed around in other ways long past graceful until we want to shout "just go already!" Oh, how I would hate for that to be me.
Well into his reign, when God showed David that it would be his son Solomon who would build the Temple of the Lord, it must have been a fresh reminder of the order of things. David may have been king, but he served God; and the next king after him would serve God. God's rule was eternal, David's was finite. From that point on, the scriptures record how David began to put in place everything that would be needed for a smooth transition to God's next king.
- He subdued the remaining enemies so that he could pass on a kingdom at peace.
- He documented the plans God gave him for the Temple construction.
- He began to gather the materials that would be needed when Solomon began the construction.
- He put a succession plan in place, organizing the Levites who would serve as priests, and tasks new leaders who would oversee the religious and political structures.
- He called together all of the leaders of the nation, religious, military and political to prepare them for his exit with a clear vision for the future.
- He endorsed Solomon as the next king and urged others to support him and help him as he grew into his leadership role.
- He urged the people and Solomon to keep their covenant with God and to trust Him to bring the Temple work to completion.
- David passed on to Solomon the call to serve God completely. The plan for the nation and the temple were God's but the work would be Solomon's.
1 Chronicles 29:3 Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple:
4. . . Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?”
6 Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly. 9 The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord.
10 David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly
David's final public act as leader was praising the Lord. He had served God well. He left a nation prosperous and at peace. Though he could have clung to power until his death, he knew when to exit in a way that would be best for those he was leaving. And because he had prepared everyone, including himself, for his exit, it was graceful indeed.
22 Then they acknowledged Solomon son of David as king a second time, anointing him before the Lord to be ruler and Zadok to be priest. 23 So Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king in place of his father David. He prospered and all Israel obeyed him. 24 All the officers and warriors, as well as all of King David’s sons, pledged their submission to King Solomon.25 The Lord highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him royal splendor such as no king over Israel ever had before.
David retired but God did not; He continued to bless His people and His work - He alone is indispensable.
But what of David? How is it that he could release his position so gracefully when many before and after him could not? David himself gives the explanation for His graceful exit in the words he wrote in Psalm 16:
Psalm 16 A psalm of David.
1 Keep me safe, O God,
for I have come to you for refuge.
for I have come to you for refuge.
2 I said to the Lord, “You are my Master!
Every good thing I have comes from you. . . ”
Every good thing I have comes from you. . . ”
5 Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing.
You guard all that is mine.
6 The land you have given me is a pleasant land.
What a wonderful inheritance!
You guard all that is mine.
6 The land you have given me is a pleasant land.
What a wonderful inheritance!
7 I will bless the Lord who guides me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I know the Lord is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.
even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I know the Lord is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.
My body rests in safety.
10 For you will not leave my soul among the dead
or allow your holy one to rot in the grave.
11 You will show me the way of life,
granting me the joy of your presence
and the pleasures of living with you forever.
David was convinced that his legacy did not lie here on earth, but in the hands of God with whom he would live forever. He did not struggle with passing the baton, leaving the scene, and giving someone else the spotlight. He might have been expendable on earth, but not in heaven. David knew his inheritance was not a dynasty here, but a home there. So why not let go when God says the time is right?
We can afford to exit graciously
when we have so much more ahead of us.
Lord, let me be a faithful person of action with everything you put in my care for as long as you show me I'm needed. Then Lord let me release it graciously to those you have chosen to follow so that I am free to follow you. "You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever!"
1 Chronicles 28
1 Chronicles 29
Romans 5:6-21
Psalm 15
Psalm 16
Proverbs 19:18-19
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