Get out of God’s way
Finding God's best for our leadership requires diligent attention to the spiritual side of boldness. We do well to start with recognizing the source of true toughness:
"Some trust in chariots & horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." (Ps 20:7) #Leadership trusts God, not resources.
We have omnipotence on our side. But the Lord's strength is not characterized by quick reactions to attack or insult. On the contrary:
"The Lord is slow to anger & great in power." (Nahum 1:3) God's #leadership quality should shape our own character.
This is God's way of boldness. Just as Jesus could have called down 12 legions of angels to defend him (Mt. 26:53) – but restrained himself in deference to God's greater plan – we are to check our anger before we act on it. What might God be doing that doesn't need our anger to accomplish?
Ultimately Jesus did more himself than a horde of angels could ever do. In one act, he completely defeated the enemy:
"Having disarmed the powers & authorities ... triumphing over them by the cross." (Col 2:15) Jesus gives us power! #leadership
God's plan for his Son wasn't just victory over sin, but annihilation of all enemy forces. Now we as the Church are to execute our role as the conquering army occupying its new territory.
"God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power, love & self-discipline." (2 Tim 1:7) Top #leadership qualities.
At the end of the Bible, Jesus declares this absolute triumph yet again: "I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades" (Revelation 1:18).
God's power is complete. Therefore let us drop the illusion that we are strong in and of ourselves. He wants us to confidently rely on him.
Remember who you are: "...who thru faith are shielded by God's power" (1 Peter 1:5) A comforting thought in #leadership.
Excerpted from Servant Leader Strong: Uniting Biblical Wisdom and High-Performance Leadership, by Tom Harper (DeepWater Books, 2019). For more information about the book, visit https://deepwaterbooks.com/.
 | Tom Harper is publisher of BiblicalLeadership.com and executive chairman of Networld Media Group, a business-to-business publisher and event producer. He has written five books, including Servant Leader Strong: Uniting Biblical Wisdom and High-Performance Leadership (DeepWater Books, 2019) as well as the Christian business fable Through Colored Glasses and its sequel Inner Threat (DeepWater, 2022). Learn More » |
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