Lead in the strength you have

Tom Harper Aug. 27, 2020

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Some days I can scale the mountain of to-dos and video calls, but other days I'd rather walk down an easy path.

It's not an introversion vs. extroversion thing; it's more of moods and energy. Sometimes I just feel weak. Think about your own rhythm – are there certain days of the week or times of the day when you're more energetic? Do people's opinions or even the weather affect you?

Resilient leaders keep climbing when the cliff becomes sheer. We all like to think we're strong, too.

But the fact is, sometimes we feel weak. I love the encouragement the Lord gives Gideon, a leader who readily admitted his weaknesses:

The Lord turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?" (Judges 6:14)

Whatever strength we possess is enough for Almighty God. I wonder if Gideon's weaknesses – being from the smallest clan in the smallest tribe – were exactly why God chose him to attack the Midianites.

If Gideon had been a great warrior from a long line of conquering chieftains, everyone would've expected him to be victorious. Not only did God choose a weak leader, he forced Gideon to attack with a much smaller force than any sane general would've taken into battle.

God will work out whatever victory he wants despite our weaknesses. Therefore we should accept our limitations – very likely he has given them to us to force us to rely on him. We should lead despite our weaknesses, with a divine, borrowed strength.

I chuckle every time I read the verses just before this passage in Judges:

When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior."

"Pardon me, my lord," Gideon replied, "but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?" (Judges 6:12-13)

An innocent question from someone used to being the underdog! I wonder the same thing sometimes. Why have we had to endure pandemic and lockdown? Why has all this happened to us?

Nevertheless, the Lord is with us, and his victory is sure.

Allow yourself days when you're not Super Leader. The sun rises & falls; the tide goes in & out. #leadership

When leaders feel inadequate, they're driven to become better. Occasional inadequacy is how our leadership stays sharp. Our weakness leads to our strength.


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/.

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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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