Following divine detours

All who were in distress, in debt or discontented gathered around him and he became their leader.
—1 Sa 22:2

David was a wanted man with a price on his head. While most upstanding citizens fled his path, many desperate people saw him as their hope. They knew he was trustworthy, but they also related to him because he had no refuge.

David’s life had morphed from a nobody to national hero to innocent fugitive. He must’ve wished he’d never volunteered to fight that giant. Yet God had plucked him from obscurity and placed him in the limelight.

Why would the Lord allow his anointed to run scared just before placing him on the throne?

There was a greater plan at work. David’s patience, trust and faithfulness were tested and ultimately rewarded.

Sometimes, on the way to his greater destination, God drops a detour sign in our path.

Excerpted from Servant Leader Strong: Uniting Biblical Wisdom and High-Performance Leadership, by Tom Harper (DeepWater Books, 2019).