Leadership From The Ground UpSample

(re)Building from the Deep

After Saul’s first military victory, the prophet Samuel reminded the Israelites that God is their true King, and that both the King and all people must fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully.

Let that be a statement that truly rings in our hearts and minds. When we truly fear the Lord, we are filled with an awe and profound reverence in who He is, and we serve Him faithfully with ALL our heart. This is a full-out, all-in, neck-deep kind of honor and respect. It means that God needs to be our everything.  

Out of love and grace, God doesn’t want to be second place in our lives. He knows what happens to His beloved children when we forget just how big He is. We too quickly become like Saul, bending the rules here and there in an effort to take back control in our own lives, shrink back from our calling, and ultimately struggle in vain to continually build up our defined identity and purpose through our own efforts.

Keeping God first in our lives means we will have confident faith that God’s promises are true, even when our eyes can’t see them or when our hearts grow tired and worn out. Even so, we are promised that the struggle for faith is worth it in the end. 

Over the years, there have been many things in my own life that I have had to remove, that I have had to painfully de-throne from being the center of my confidence. When the pain comes from personal sin and mistakes, I can certainly understand that I will have to struggle to get back on track and recenter my foundation on God’s love, justice, and mercy. But when the world starts to fall apart without an understanding of why, the tension can get a lot more confusing. 

Struggles which force us to stand on faith are typically the ones that we don’t understand and can’t rationalize. They are the ones that seem blurry… and try as we might, we just can’t bring the situation into focus on our own strength. This is when we as leaders need to reframe the potential of the struggle through God’s perspective. This is when we have the opportunity to build our resiliency.

When your faith is placed in God, the one and only King, who gave up everything to save you, you can rest assured that the struggle will not flatten you. The struggle will not shatter you. The struggle will not be your end.

When your faith to accomplish the impossible is rooted deeply in the One who placed every star in the sky and knit you together in your mother’s womb, you can and will move mountains.

“Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace].” James 1:2-3 (Amplified Version)

That’s right people, inner peace.  

Some translations of that verse read as perfection and completion...

Let that promise sink in right now. (And repeat it out loud to yourself several times.)  

Leaders, fight to keep God as the only confidence of your lives, especially in the midst of tension and new paths. Remember that any problem you face or failure you’ve had can never be bigger than your God. When you keep your eyes up and on God, you have confidence that your foundation will be solid, strong, and unshakeable.  

Leadership Actions: 

• What situation are you only seeing “in part” right now and need some faith and perspective for? Name it and tell God. Don’t hesitate. Hold out your hands, palms open. Let Him take the weight of where you fell short and turn it into a beautiful redemption story. (…and if you find yourself trying to take it back, repeat this tip often!)
• Most people don’t talk actively about our shortcomings and struggles, particularly in our image-conscious and quick-judgment culture. People often walk around with the invisible weight of several failures hanging over them. Commit this week to spending intentional time with God asking Him to reveal anyone to you that you can come alongside and encourage.