I was driving my truck through town last week and noticed a vehicle in front of me being towed away. At the stoplight, I took a photo of the car. What caught my attention was the bumper sticker attached to the vehicle – “Please be Patient. Student driver.”

A student driver is someone who does not know how to drive or correctly interpret the rules of the road. They need someone to help them make the right choices and receive the training required to become a responsible driver. Until that happens, they should not be behind the wheel.

The towed vehicle reminds me of what is happening in our nation, and within parts of the Church. Leaders who lead without God’s leadership and fail to adhere to the truth of Scripture should be removed from their positions to protect the rest of us from their missteps.

These leaders will be towed away from their current positions because their continued presence behind the wheel will bring greater instability. These are people who have used their position of authority to gain abusive power at the expense of those they have been called to serve.

We need to be careful not to prematurely judge what is happening when such people are told to step aside. We should not align with the loud and emotional protesting chorus that wants to halt their removal because the Spirit is not producing those emotional responses. Their protests reveal a lack of discernment that is needed to rightly discern what is taking place.

Leaders who continue to oppose the heart of God will eventually lead us to a crashing conclusion where rebellion and increasing anarchy have taken the wheel, leading to destruction.

The towed vehicle represents two things: a car that can no longer be driven safely and needs to be hauled away for repairs, and the drivers of those vehicles who should not be allowed to lead until a righteous intervention takes place.

Referencing the Lord and what He will do in times of leadership change, Daniel wrote, “He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning” (Daniel 2:21).

At some point, we need to trust God with the outcome of change because He knows what He is doing, even when we do not see or understand all that is taking place. We can trust God’s wisdom and understanding to lead us forward when we are being surrounded by voices of discontent and misunderstanding.