Who do you call when you're the one everybody calls?

Pastor Talaat McNeely, who leads Purpose City Church in Aurora with his wife Ty, opened by naming the leader's bent: you are the one people come to for advice, prayer, and decisions. But when you get overwhelmed, who knows about it? In 1 Samuel 19 the man who killed Goliath, David, finds himself needing somebody to help him survive. The message is simple: even leaders need help.

Called, capable, and still in need of help

In 2021 Pastor Talaat's wife, his father-in-law, and then his own pastor each sensed God saying he was to plant a church. He had seven years as an associate pastor and four as an ordained elder, but church planting was different, and he quickly found himself overwhelmed and clueless. The Association of Related Churches took his family under their arms and helped them bring the vision to life. His experience mattered, and so did his need for help. You can be called by God, capable in your assignment, and still need help.

1. Receive the help God provides through people

Jonathan learned that Saul wanted David dead, warned him, and then spoke to his father on David's behalf, reminding the king of David's innocence and service. Jonathan had access to a conversation David could not safely have for himself. Sometimes the help you need comes through people who know things you don't and can speak in rooms where you cannot, and it rarely arrives in the packaging you wanted. Pastor Talaat told of praying for God to take a hundred pounds off his body, then meeting a neighbor on a walk who turned out to have a PhD in nutrition and thirty years of coaching experience. His first instruction: stop eating sugar. That was not the answer he wanted, but it was the help he had prayed for. Later in the chapter David's own wife, Michal, lowered him through a window and delayed Saul's men. Sometimes the very person God uses to get you free is the person closest to you, and you have to be a willing participant. Receiving help from people can be an expression of trusting God.

2. Let trustworthy people know what you're facing

David fled to Samuel, the prophet who had anointed him, and "told him all that Saul had done to him." The warrior king, bear killer, lion killer, and Goliath killer sat at Samuel's feet and said, "I need help." People cannot respond to a burden they don't know you are carrying. Some leaders suffer in silence for the sake of position, which is exactly where the enemy wants them, because silence becomes frustration, frustration becomes bitterness, and eventually you snap at the wrong person at the wrong time. Pastor Talaat read prayer requests from his own prayer team, "peace and strength," "wisdom and creativity," and called them church word salad. God wants leaders He can count on for years, and that requires someone trustworthy you can tell the truth to.

3. Depend on God beyond what people can do

Even surrounded by Samuel and the prophets, David was still being pursued. Saul sent soldiers three times, and each time the Spirit of God came on them and they prophesied. When Saul went himself, the Spirit overcame him too, and he lay on the ground prophesying all day and night. The message is clear: it was God who interrupted Saul's pursuit, not anything David did. There will always be a place where your expertise, gifting, and anointing come to their end and you need the great I Am to step in. Never read your own press; never get to a place where you forget you need God. Sometimes you have to move by faith rather than strategy, intellect, or charisma. Humble yourself so He doesn't have to send a situation to humble you.

When the pain gets harder, the praise gets louder

Psalm 59 was written while Saul's men surrounded David's house. His resolve: "As for me, I will sing about your power each morning... for you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress." When life gets hard it is easier to disconnect from God in the pain, but David models the opposite. Our deepest need brings us to the same place: only Jesus can remove our sin, and only staying connected to Him keeps us clear.

One step

Needing help does not disqualify you from leadership; it is part of it and how you get strength for the long run. Before the day ends, take one step: arrange a conversation, accept help that has already been offered, or simply be honest before God about what you are carrying. God made you for community, which is why Elan has Groups. You can keep growing into who God has called you to be while receiving the help you need along the way.