Everyone Is Leading SomeoneSample

Keep Sailing, Even When You’re Stuck

Determining God’s vision for your team is tough; communicating that vision and moving toward it is challenging as well. But perhaps the toughest thing is to keep on moving forward, bit by bit, in spite of hardships, obstacles and setbacks.

One of the most inspiring stories of leadership is the story of Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton and his Antarctic expedition on the ship Endurance (1914-1917). Legend has it that Shackleton chose a team of men to crew his ship by placing this ad: “Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success.”

They had barely sailed a month when their ship was caught in a pack of ice. For the next 10 months, they were unable to move until the ice finally crushed the great ship, and it sank. 

The goal of their voyage seemed impossible; survival became their dearest hope. For five-and-a-half months they lived in tents on ice. Four of the crew members set out in a smaller vessel for help, and the rest of the crew waited another five months before rescuers came. But not a single man was lost. Everyone survived!

Whether you are experiencing a calm sea or an icy detour, keep moving toward God. Keep sailing toward the vision, growing in your faith, listening for His voice.

Even in the midst of those hard times, the leader can trust that God is in the voyage with him, shaping his heart and growing his faith. As you seek His vision in leading others, he will revolutionize your desires as well. Moses learned to value God above everything else. He wouldn’t budge a bit if God wasn’t moving him, and he wouldn’t even take a step forward if the Lord’s presence didn’t go with them. He made a simple question, “How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you, and I know you by name”.

Moses’ words reveal the heart of leadership that God desires in His followers. What more could we ask than the promise of His presence?

If you want to get Gregg Matte’s book, Finding God’s Will, please visit: http://www.bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/finding-god-s-will/358282