Author: admin

The world is filed with people who challenge and even mock the people of God. Often God’s people can be intimidated into remaining silent or even compromising their beliefs and values. It often seems easier to avoid conflict and ride out the storm. However, sometimes, someone needs to speak up. If evil is given an inch, it will soon demand a mile. The powers of darkness cannot tolerate it when people remain loyal and obedient to God and His standards.

David was not the most experienced person present, nor was he in a position of leadership. No one expected him to do anything in light of the imposing challenge before them. There wasn’t even any armor available that fit the young man. But David had something that is indispensible to leaders: courage. His bravery did not arise from foolish, youthful bravado. It was based on his walk with God. He had relied upon God’s protection when he single-handedly fought a bear and a lion and God had proven His provision was more than adequate. David’s faith was not a blind faith. It was based on experience. On what David had seen.

David understood that, with a greater challenge came a greater provision from God. Unlike other people present that day; David’s faith was not theoretical. He lived his faith daily. When the imposing giant began to taunt God’s people, David told his king, “Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:32). Such courage and unwavering faith in God would lead David to become the greatest leader in his nation’s history.

What giant is presently challenging you? How are your actions reflecting what you believe about God? Are you letting the enemies of God intimidate you? Have you been bullied into silence? Or, do you sense that God wants to show Himself strong through your life? How you respond to those situations reveal your fitness as a leader.

Don’t be surprised when someone questions your intentions. Not everyone will understand your heart or what you sense God wants you to do. Those who oppose you will question your integrity, resolve, loyalty, and competency. But God has not asked them to do the task; He has called on you.

How you respond to your critics reveals how easily you can be discouraged or distracted from your divine assignment. Will you let those around you cause you to second-guess God’s call on your life or the task to which He assigned to you? Will you delay your obedience because problems arise? Will you begin to doubt God’s word in light of what your opponents say? Your loyalty and obligations are not primarily to your colleagues or team members but to God. He will ultimately vindicate you and He will show everyone who opposed you what He can do through one person who is willing to whole-heartedly follow Him.

Let God be your defender and champion and you will not need to worry about your future in the company or whether or not the right people notice you in order to get promoted. God may be looking to see whether or not you will be faithful to Him because He has something of greater significance planned for you in the days to come.

Samuel was searching for a king, so he looked for a man with impressive credentials. He viewed the candidates for royalty through his own eyes, but quickly learned that appearances, though impressive to people, are unimpressive to God. To God, no one is ugly or handsome or beautiful or strong or intelligent.

For Him, there are only two categories: obedient and disobedient. God is the one who accomplishes the miraculous through His people. Whether or not a person is pretty or homely makes no difference. Their height and muscle density are irrelevant. How well they talk, their Ivy League credentials, how adept they are with technology are inconsequential to whether or not their heart is right before God. When God rejected every one of David’s brothers, Samuel was confused. “Are all the young men here?” he asked. Jesse replied, “There is yet the youngest, and he is keeping our sheep.” The youngest was the smallest and the weakest who traditionally received the smallest portion of the inheritance. The baby of the family was teased, left to do the dirty work, often bullied by his older brothers, and had to work extra hard to even be noticed. Yet in God’s eyes, he was a perfect candidate to lead the nation. His heart was right. His focus was on target. His attitude was pleasing to God.

A resume will highlight what impresses people, but it may not reveal what is important to God. Integrity, character, focus, and a pure heart are revealed in one’s relationships and in how a person spends their time and money. Ask God to show you a person’s heart the next time you are hiring staff or team members. God notices the seemingly small things. When it comes to people, are you concerned with the same things God is?

How do people find their way back into God’s will after they have departed from it? By the same path upon which they departed. There will inevitably be times when circumstances are so intimidating and discouraging that we are tempted to run as far away from them as we possibly can. While withdrawal can be a useful strategy for regaining perspective and strength, God does not intend for us to live or lead from a safe haven. At some point God will inevitably instruct us to rejoin the battle. When He does, He is likely to command us to return the same way we departed.

When we find we are no longer where God wants us to be, there is generally a point of departure. At some point we no longer trust God, or obey Him, or love Him as we should. It will be to that place God will make us return if we are to be restored. If it was a lack of faith that caused us to fall away, He will direct us to a place where we must trust Him. If it was an unwillingness to forgive, He will command us to return to the scene of our unforgiveness. If it was pride or greed or unkind words that caused us to depart from God’s will, He will not allow us to circumvent them. Instead, He will lead us to return and to overcome that which initially overwhelmed us. Just as Peter was made to confess his love for Christ three times after he had denied Him thrice, so God will bring us back to the place where we denied Him and invite us to make amends.

We can’t pick and choose which divine commands we will obey. We can’t present God with a selection of what we will and won’t do for Him. At some point God will inevitably make us return to our point of departure so we have a second chance to do things the way He intended. Have you departed in some way from God’s will for your life? If so, you can count on it. God has not forgotten. He has not overlooked it. He will bring you back to that place and give you another opportunity to honor Him with your life.

God doesn’t have to raise His voice. He is God. What He says in a whisper has enormous consequences. When God speaks in a still, small voice, we are forced to listen, carefully. You can’t listen casually or half-heartedly. The onus is on us to prepare ourselves to hear whatever the divine whisperer says.

In times of crisis, we assume God’s answer will be dramatic. We can presume that God is as desperate and upset about our circumstances as we are. But He is not. He is supremely in control. He is never caught off guard. He always has an answer. He is never intimidated. So He can whisper.

It is hard to miss fire or thunderclaps from heaven, but whispers can go undetected. The cacophony of noises surrounding us can drown out divine messages softly spoken to our soul. Perhaps that is why Jesus climbed mountains at night to hear from His Father. He went to great lengths to ensure He missed nothing His Father was communicating to Him. Don’t be afraid of silence. Don’t shun solitude. It may be in the stillness of the night that you hear some of the most profound messages from the heart of God.

Passion often differentiates great leaders from mediocre ones. Passion will take leaders to amazing heights while phlegmatic leaders may trudge along with modest results. The problem with passion is its fleeting nature. It can consume us almost to bursting one moment and abandon us the next. Our passion for God’s work can be inflamed as we listen to a sermon but then be immediately deflated at the first sound of criticism.

Those whose leadership is based on passion must be prepared for a career of severe ups and downs! Because our passion is a feeling, it is grounded in our current emotions. The truth is: it is hard to be passionate about certain things. Serving without being appreciated, persevering under criticism, waiting on the Lord when He doesn’t answer immediately, are not easy to do at the best of times. But they are certainly challenging to perform zealously.

Ultimately our passion for service must come from God and not our circumstances. When we consider what Christ has done for us, His promises to us, and His ongoing work on our behalf, we are more likely to be passionate in our service for Him. Are you known as a leader who grows hot or cold? Are you zealous for God one day and lukewarm the next? How much, or little, does it take to alter the fervency of your service for Christ? Is your zeal for serving your Lord the same today as it was when He first called you into His service? Or, have you allowed people or problems to rob you of the joy of serving your Lord with all your heart?

Sometimes the simplest questions are the most troubling! God has a way of cutting through the rhetoric, meaningless discussions, and excuses and getting to the heart of the matter. While those we work with may feel awkward about addressing certain issues with us, God feels no such constraint! Our challenge is slowing down long enough so God can have that brief, pointed conversation with us. We can so immerse ourselves in activity and labor that we grow deaf to God’s voice as He seeks to address the fundamental issues of our life.

Our hearts have imaginative ways of justifying whatever we are doing. We can justify the oddest behavior! We can rationalize a retreat and make it appear like an advance. We can spin a defeat until it sounds like a victory. We can present our selfishness, or pride, or greed so it appears to be humble generosity! But God plays no such games. He always speaks truth, even though seasoned with grace.

The reality is that we often did not set out intending to travel to our present destination. We did not necessarily wake up one morning intending to fall away from the Lord or to give ground to our enemies or to sacrifice our godliness. But we ended up doing so nonetheless. Often when this occurs, God does not waste time berating us or heaping coals of guilt upon our heads. Rather He is the master of the brief, direct, and utterly devastating question that cannot be ignored or cast aside.

So what are you doing where you presently are? Where are you spiritually? Where are you in your relationship with your spouse and children or parents? Where are you in your job? In your service in your church? More importantly than how you arrived there, the pressing question is: are you presently where God wants you to be?

Resting can be one of the most profitable of spiritual exercises. At times all of the Scripture reading and prayer in the world will not advance us an inch in our walk with God if we are too exhausted to understand, receive, and respond to what we are reading and hearing. There are certainly times when we must forego sleep to have adequate time to spend with our Lord. But there are other occasions when, out of our physical and emotional exhaustion, we must put all other leadership activities on hold and obtain much needed rest.

God designed people to require rest (Exodus 20:8-11). We cannot work continuously. Everyone, including us, has their limits. If we do not recognize those limits and care for our bodies, a day may come when we are so tired we no longer care about what we are doing. When we are refreshed we can accomplish far more than when we labor in exhaustion. The world appears brighter and God seems closer, when we have rested.

Leaders are so busy and face such enormous demands that we may require more than a short nap to be recharged. Sometimes we need an extended rest. As leaders, we can feel guilty for slowing down or relaxing. At times we need someone to give us permission to cease from our labors. If this is your situation, be of good cheer! God, through the Scriptures, regularly instructs us to rest. In fact, he commands us to.

When was the last time you truly rested? Have you recharged your spirit and physical strength to the point you feel ready for whatever God has for you next? Restoration is not laziness. It is preparing yourself to enthusiastically undertake whatever assignment God has for you next.

Rarely are we as alone or isolated as we think we are. It can seem as if it is “lonely at the top,” but the reality is that when we are doing kingdom work, there are usually other kingdom citizens in the vicinity (1 Kings 19:18). When circumstances become difficult, it is our nature to feel sorry for ourselves and to assume no one else carries a similar load. We tend to magnify our own suffering and minimize the burdens borne by others. In reality, God could show us others who have endured far more than we have. To think that all God has left in His service is us, is to greatly overestimate ourselves!

Likewise, when we complain we are all alone, it is time to take our gaze off ourselves. The reason we cannot see others may be because we have become fixated on ourselves.

Pity parties may feel good at the moment, but they change nothing and they certainly don’t glorify God. People do not look back later with pride on their pity party. Such wallowing in our sorrow does not bring out our best. It might be good for us to recall that the One to whom we are complaining was sent as heaven’s lone emissary into an impoverished refugee family. Jesus had to pray alone, because even His closest friends could not stay awake with Him on His darkest night. He had to die alone because those who declared they would die with Him had denied Him and fled into the night. He understands what it is like to serve alone. Yet He never complained. He never basked in self pity. He understood His role. He knew what was at stake. He was also aware of His future reward. So He served, whether with others or alone. His service was not based on what others were doing or whether others served alongside Him or appreciated Him. His service flowed out of absolute obedience to the One who called Him. It was to Him He would give an account.

We never serve entirely alone, because there is One who promised He would never leave us or forsake us. He is ever vigilant. He constantly seeks to walk with us and to guide us. He never sleeps. He is never preoccupied with other matters. If you feel as if you are serving alone, return to the One who understands being alone far better than we do, and allow Him to give you the strength and resolve to serve Him wholeheartedly.

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.