Looking for Leadership

In times of crisis large segments of the population look for answers and there is often an expressed desire, an expectation, that governments will provide that leadership. While I appreciate what our elected officials and bureaucracies do, I think there is a better place to look. I often turn to these two verses from Psalm 25. They exemplify something I read recently in a book by Scott Rodin, “It is not whom you are leading but who is leading you that will determine your legacy.” Thus, I regularly join David and turn these verses into a prayer.

4  Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. 5  Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day. Psalm 25:4-5 (NKJV)

I recognize the need to walk in the path He has prepared for me. Though I may stumble and wander, my desire is to be on the path He has laid out. Notice both ‘ways’ and ‘paths’ are plural. This is akin to what it says elsewhere in Psalms.

4  There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. Psalm 46:4 (NKJV)

The point is not the idea that ‘all roads lead to Rome.’ Rather it is the idea that each of us have a different calling, but we all have the same purpose. Our purpose is to walk in His ways and flow into the river of His purpose. Our gifts and callings have been given by Him to glorify His name. This means seeking to walk in the paths He has prepared for us and looking to Him in expectation that He will lead us on the right path.

The idea that we can expect Him to lead us in the right way is inherent in the Hebrew word which is translated as ‘wait’ in verse 25. The word carries the sense of hope and expectation and being bound up with Him, the opposite of passivity. We are not waiting in the sense of hoping something will happen. The call is to wait the way David expressed it elsewhere. This is the verse I think of when I think of ‘waiting on the Lord’ because it encapsulates in one verse the idea of scriptural waiting, a confident expectancy.

3  My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up. Psalm 5:3 (NKJV)

So, in this season we need leadership. Let’s look for it in the right place and leave a legacy that points others to Jesus.

What is God Speaking in our Circumstances

Circumstances are not always what they appear to be. There are many examples in scripture of things not heading to the conclusion one would envision given the circumstances. For example, Joseph being sold into slavery. The children of Israel coming out of Egypt and then having an impassable sea before them and an Egyptian army behind them. Paul seeking to spread the gospel and ending up in prison.

What came out of the above events? Joseph preserved a nation; God displayed His power to engender trust in a people and Paul had time to reflect and write a good portion of the New Testament. Great outcomes in each case but not the expected outcome based on viewing the circumstances from a simply natural point of view.

There are natural examples of how good can arise out of something that presented as a disaster. Years ago, I remember reading the story of the electronics giant Best Buy. The owner had a chain of nine stores and the main store was hit by a tornado, it tore off the roof of the showroom but left the stockroom intact. The owner made a decision to hold a ‘Tornado Sale’ and advertised the sale as the ‘best buys.’ It was so successful it changed their business approach and led to the changing of the name of the stores to Best Buy. The store literally rebuilt itself and grew to become an international electronics giant, all from how the owner chose to respond to the destruction from a storm.

Obviously not every situation turns out this way but some of how it turns out is based on how we choose to respond. Here are two scriptures most of us are likely familiar with.

20  But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Genesis 50:20 (NKJV)

28  And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 (NKJV)

Did Joseph suffer? Yes. Did Paul suffer? Yes. Will we suffer in some way? Yes. This is part of our journey through life. Yet if this is a test the right answer for the test is choosing to look to Jesus rather than our circumstances. This is not about ignoring or denying them. When the children of Israel faced the Red Sea with an Egyptian army pursuing them there was no pretending the sea or army were not obstacles. There was a looking to the Father in the midst of their circumstances. Moses did the crying out and we need to do that in each of our lives.   

Our call is to look at and fully acknowledge our circumstances then practice what David encouraged.

1  Give ear to my words, O LORD, Consider my meditation. 2  Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, For to You I will pray. 3  My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up. Psalm 5:1-3 (NKJV)

Let’s look up to Him!

Living from the Right Place

Living from the right place is a lofty aspiration. Years ago I came across an expression, ‘Live from a great depth of being.’ My heart was drawn to the idea. I looked it up recently but could not identify the source. The closest I came was Emerson’s quote, ‘It is not length of life but depth of life.’ That aside, I think it is an important concept and lofty goal. Recently I came across Heidi Baker’s expression of living ‘Presence Centred.’ There could be no greater depth to live from than Jesus presence.

In my own prayer guide I have written the following, ‘Holy Spirit, as I sit and walk with Jesus, I ask You to draw me into the subtleties of the interaction that I might deepen my awareness of Your presence and leading.’ I have it down in writing because I believe it is important and I need to remind myself of this aspiraiton. I know Jesus seeks to interact with me and the depth to which it takes place depends on the response of my heart. I generally put on worship music as I pray in the morning but sometimes I find that as He is drawing my heart I simply need to turn it off because it is a distraction rather than an aid. This is a relationship and He is the lead so I need to pay attention to how Jesus is leading and respond accordingly.

As I write this I have gentle instrumental worship quietly playing in the background. It is an aid because it supports rather than overwhelms and my heart is currently in a reflective place. At other times something a bit more intense is helpful, or silence. After all there is an old Hebrew saying, ‘The beginning of wisdom is silence.’

However we approach Him, He seeks to draw each of our hearts into a place of intimacy in a way that grounds our specific relationship with Him and this has always been the way. For decades a popular phrase in use in evangelism is the idea of knowing Jesus as our ‘personal Lord and Saviour.’ While I get the point and the idea of us making a personal connection I have never liked it and in fact find it a bit offensive. It may just be my reaction but I wonder how our Lord and Saviour could not be personal. I have no concept of an ‘impersonal’ Lord and Saviour.   

Having said that, we are each called to develop and deepen our relationship to Jesus in the way in which He calls us. One of my favourite Proverbs is the first phrase in 14:33.

33  Wisdom rests in the heart of him who has understanding, But what is in the heart of fools is made known. Proverbs 14:33 (NKJV)

Wisdom rests in the heart of him who has understanding. A powerful phrase that speaks to me of Jesus as wisdom being comfortable and at home in my heart if I understand how to respond to His drawing and leading. How is he calling you today?