Author: admin

When is enough, enough? Is it when we accumulate a certain number of opponents or critics? Is it when financial problems attain a particular level? Is it when we have faithfully served a prescribed number of years? Or do we have the right to determine when we quit?

If we are the ones determining and designing our leadership careers, then we can choose when they come to a close. But if we are serving out of a sense of calling, then the One who called us has the prerogative to set the agenda for our lives. We may be leaders but we are foremost servants. Servants don’t decide when they will work and when they will not. They don’t complain every time people demonstrate a lack of appreciation. Servants serve and they expect to be treated like a servant. Our problem at times is that we want the nobility of divine servant-hood without the corresponding sacrifice. We invite God to use us but we disdain the feeling of being used!

When we grow discouraged and desire to quit, we are often overreacting to our current problems. In reality, they generally are not as ominous as they first appear. Time will pass and God will achieve His purposes once again. Our question ought not to be, “Should I have to put up with what I am presently enduring?” but, “Has God yet achieved His purposes through my life in this situation?” Surely Jesus might have muttered, “I have had enough” after the Roman soldiers had flogged Him and pounded nails through His flesh. But He did not. He steadfastly remained at His post refusing to quit or feel sorry for Himself, until He could triumphantly exclaim, “It is finished!” We have no right to abandon a divine assignment, regardless of how difficult, until our Lord, at His good pleasure, chooses to dismiss us.

We can’t lead out of yesterday’s courage. One day we can feel invincible and the next day we are running for our lives! One day no problem seems insurmountable and the day after we desperately want to quit and find a quiet, sedentary job at a distant, tranquil outpost. But that’s not unusual.

The difference is not necessarily in the magnitude of the problems but in the condition of our heart. A heart on fire for God that trusts Him wholeheartedly can defy an entire nation on a mountaintop and audaciously summon fire to descend from heaven. A heart that has been neglected, or emotions that are frayed, however, can become fearful at the slightest threat or criticism. We can never presume upon yesterday’s walk with God.

Unfortunately we are often most vulnerable after we experience success. It is not just defeats that take their toll. Achieving victory can be physically and emotionally exhausting as well. In our effort to serve God, we can neglect our relationship with Him. Or, because we seem to be making progress, we can neglect to care for ourselves even though our leadership tasks are clearly taking their toll. Because we are experiencing success we can wrongly assume that all is well between us and God. And it might well have been, yesterday. But is it today? Or have we allowed our focus to shift even slightly from Him to our problems? Have our critics’ voices become louder than our Master’s?

Leaders can’t afford to bask in yesterday’s success. Today is a new day with fresh challenges. Our courage must be renewed. We must prepare ourselves daily for our next assignment.

Even the greatest and most invincible of leaders eventually reach the end of themselves. We all have an allotment of days, which, when spent, bring us to the end of our life (Psalm 139:16). Some people are satisfied merely with existing. They rise each day to eat, work and sleep. They earn a living, pay their bills, raise a family, and then return to dust. For countless millions of people, this has been the general sum of their lives.

Others have a sense of divine destiny. They believe their life has a purpose greater than merely finding their next meal or paying their bills. There is a reason God chose to place them upon the planet, when, where and how He did. History has largely been shaped by people who chose to live their lives in ways that impacted their world. These people did not want to leave anything on the table when their life was done. They strove to achieve their maximum, God-given potential. They dreaded looking back over their life one day with regret. The world was never the same because they lived.

Moses was such a man. He was not perfect. He made some enormous mistakes. But along the way, Moses came to understand that God had a purpose for his life that was much larger than merely shepherding sheep and providing for his family. There were certain things God intended to accomplish through his life that could change the course of history and impact generations of people to come. As a result, people are being blessed to this day by his legacy. Few eulogies are as impressive as the one Scripture affords to Moses (Deuteronomy 34:10-12). How will your life be summarized one day? Will you have lived your life to meet your own personal needs and wants? Or will you have lived in such a way that God blesses many people through you? Will generations to come continue to feel the impact because you chose to find God’s purpose for your life and then lived your life with wholesale abandon to achieve God’s purposes?

Leaders see farther than do their followers. Followers focus on the immediate tasks at hand. They want to accomplish their assignments by day’s end. Managers focus on doing the same things better and more efficiently than before. But leaders must see farther. They know their people cannot remain where they are forever. They must move forward. Changes must inevitably be made. It is the future that captures the attention of leaders.

How far into the future are you looking? Are you only considering tomorrow? Next week? Next year? Or do you have a long-term view of those you are leading? What might they become ten or twenty or more years from now? What seeds, planted today, will produce giant oak trees one day?

The key is not what we want to see in the future but what God intends to do. Whether it concerns your organization, church, children or grandchildren, do you have a sense of what God is purposing for them? Have you spent time with God asking Him to share His heart with you about these important matters?

Moses spent forty years leading his people into the Promised Land. Yet Moses never saw the land himself. Or did he? God allowed Moses a glimpse not only of the geography, but of the future. God knows the future. He understands what the future results of our actions and life will be. Perhaps if we had a better sense of the future impact of our present actions, we would be more careful and intentional about what we were doing today. Take time to let God reveal to you how He intends to use your life to bless future generations.

Moses made at least two costly mistakes as a leader. First and foremost, he mistakenly assumed that the key to serving God was getting the job done. He was a leader who was results-oriented. He should have learned this as a young man when he murdered an Egyptian in his futile attempt to set an Israelite free. But forty years of shepherding in the wilderness did not teach him that invaluable lesson. In God’s eyes, how something is done is as important as what is accomplished. God told Moses to speak to the rock, not to strike it. Moses ignored the specifics but he got the result he was looking for. The problem? Moses dishonored God’s name in the process. It is possible to do the right thing, the wrong way. In so doing, Moses treated God disrespectfully. He behaved as if God’s command was only a suggestion that could be tampered with and adjusted as it suited him. For that, Moses would pay a stiff penalty.

Moses made a second mistake. He went with his success, instead of God’s word. Earlier God had instructed Moses to strike a rock, and water had bubbled forth (Exodus 17:6). Now, even though God told Moses only to speak to the rock, Moses immediately translated the divine command to resemble what he already knew and experienced. What is more miraculous, to bring water from a rock by striking a stone, or to produce water by speaking to a rock? God was ready to do a greater work through Moses, but Moses was a victim of his previous success. Because striking the rock worked before, now striking rocks was Moses’ specialty!

Has God asked you to do something you have never done before? Don’t modify His command to suit your experience or skill set. Trust the Lord and do exactly as He tells you. Then you will experience God doing an amazing new work in your life and you will glorify Him in ways you never have before.

If you cannot stand to have people oppose you, you should prayerfully consider whether God has called you to be a leader. If you lead, you should expect opposition. This is because when you lead, others will inevitably second-guess you. There will be those who presume that your motives are impure. Others will assume you have not done your homework or that there is a better way than the one you propose. There will be those who criticize you loudly in the public forum and others who whisper sinister innuendoes from the dark shadows of the office hallways. One thing is certain: opposition is inevitable for those who follow their Lord.

Despite the stark record of Scripture and church history that testifies that even God’s choicest servants faced unkind and relentless critics, we are still surprised and offended when people question or oppose us. We tend to take barbs personally. We often wonder why a loving God would allow us to suffer unfair attacks after all we have sacrificed to follow God’s will.

The reality is that the heavenly Father did not even spare His own beloved Son from critics and opponents. When Jesus taught, or healed, He could see the angry Pharisees standing at the edge of the crowd shaking their heads in public disgust. Ever since Satan sought to thwart Adam and Eve from obeying God’s will, God’s people have faced resistance to following God. It has never been easy. It has always come at a price. If you are presently facing opposition as you seek to follow God’s will, keep your eyes riveted on Him. Don’t allow your critics to set your agenda. One day your critics will all fade from view and then all you will see is your Lord and the reward He brings with Him.

Leaders are not necessarily the most skilled people in their organization. They may not be the smartest people on their team. But one thing spiritual leaders must be able to do well is to find their way into God’s holy presence. At times God’s people can become disoriented to God. The competing voices clamoring for our attention, the problems that continually surface, and the critics who demand a response can create a cacophony of noises that hide God’s presence.

While others are wringing their hands or assigning blame, this is the time when leaders must seek a meeting with God. There are moments when no ordinary consultation will do. We must break from our comfortable routine and do whatever is necessary to ensure we have met with the Lord. Moses ascended a majestic mountain to meet with God face to face. He did not stand at the bottom of the mount, waiting for God to come to Him. He did not climb the gentle slopes at the foot of the mount before stopping and waiting for God. Moses did not complain about the steep incline or jagged rocks or narrow trails he encountered. No, Moses knew there was far too much at stake for him not to hear from God. His people needed more than his opinion or best guess. Only a word from God would do. So Moses ascended to the very top of the mountain.

It is easy to brush over this phrase in our Bibles. But the reality is that before Moses experienced his life-changing encounter with God, he had to climb a mountain. When was the last time you made a similar effort to meet with God? What have your meetings with God been like, lately?

The discipline of a daily quiet time with God has dulled the spiritual senses of many. While it is good to be habitual and purposeful in our walk with God, meetings with the divine ought to be driven by more than a calendar or a routine. When we spend time with God, we are not merely conducting a Bible reading or indulging in a prayer time. We are relating to almighty God. The same God who spoke and created a universe is now communing with us. That ought to be a sobering reality every time we approach the heavenly throne. While lightning may not flash across the sky every time we bow our head in prayer, God’s presence is just as real. His splendor is just as awesome. The possibilities are just as enormous.

God is spirit and the spiritual world is His domain. Yet at various times He chooses to express Himself physically so His temporal creatures can experience first-hand His awesome power. While God does not utilize lightning and thunder every time He speaks to His people, there are certain moments when He ensures we do not miss His message. God has ways of ensuring we do not treat Him lightly or carelessly.

In later days God spoke to His people but not with the same frightening intensity of Mount Sinai. However, the Israelites knew that the God who could speak in the still, small voice was also the terrifying God of Mount Sinai. Just as the prophet Isaiah was astounded when he was allowed to see the spiritual reality of heaven’s court as he worshipped (Isaiah 6), so we should consider that when we enter the spiritual realm, there is far more happening than our spiritual eyes and ears may detect.

It is a serious thing to become casual in our walk with God. It can be tempting to try and rush in and out of God’s presence or to squeeze Him in to our full calendars. We are busy people with demanding schedules. Time is valuable. Yet throughout Scripture, God expected His people to prepare for their meetings with Him. God is sovereign over the universe. He will bring time to a climactic end and judge all of humanity. It is foolhardy to think we can hurry into God’s presence unprepared.

One must prepare for a life-changing encounter with God. This means we attend to our hearts and minds before a divine encounter. We cleanse ourselves from any known sin. We carefully consider who it is we are about to meet. Could it be that our lack of prior consecration is hindering the impact of our meetings with God? One ought never to leave a meeting with almighty God bored, listless, or uninspired. The children of Israel were instructed to take three days to prepare for their divine meeting. It took effort, but people are still feeling the impact of their encounter thousands of years later! What have your meetings with God been like? Have you been properly and thoroughly preparing for them? What might you do differently so you are ready for your next meeting with God?

Can people tell that you have heard from God? Is it obvious to others that you walk closely with the divine? God has ways of verifying His word to His servants. God promised Samuel that everything he prophesied would come to pass (1 Samuel 3:19). God assured Joshua that no enemy could defeat him (Joshua 1:5). God made Moses’ face shine after his divine encounters. For each of these servants of God, it was clearly apparent that they had received a word from God.

Conversely, the evidence of a false prophet was that what they prophesied did not come to pass (Deuteronomy 18:20-22). There are those who loudly proclaim the validity of their words. They cry out for an audience. They assure people of the truth of their words. But God does not affirm them. What they proclaim never comes to pass. God does not affirm their words in peoples’ hearts. Despite their most eloquent words and earnest appeals, people are not moved by what they say.

The key for leaders is not to develop the most appealing strategy or grandiose vision but to receive a clear word from God. God will stand by every word He speaks. Not every word you utter. Could it be that you need to make your way up the sacred mount to enter into the thick cloud once again? Wait there as long as it takes until you have clearly received a word from your Lord. That word will change everything.