what makes a great leader?
In an effort to answer this question, I began reading up on the great leaders of the Bible,
to see if I could find a common thread, or gift, that made them so great.
What I discovered changed my perspective completely!
Welcome back. Let’s take a look at a few of these Biblical role models:
Joseph
GIFT: dreams/interpretaion of dreams
PAST: He was his dad’s favorite,
therefore his jealous brothers tried
to kill him. Instead of death, he was
sold into slavery, then imprisoned for
something he didn’t do, then was called
on to interpret the king’s dream.
God interpreted the dream through Joseph,
so the king put him in charge of saving
Egypt and surrounding areas from famine.
Joseph became the 2nd most powerful man
in all of Egypt!!
Moses
Well…the Bible doesn’t mention any gifts :GIFT
that Moses might have had. In fact, it says
he was fearful of leading, and stuttered.
As a baby, he was saved from death by the :PAST
grace of God. Through a crazy chain of events,
he was raised by his Hebrew mother in the
Egyptian palace. As an adult, he commited
murder,and ran away to hide out in the desert.
40 years later, God called him to go back to
Egypt and lead His people to freedom!
Wait a minute.
Moses didn’t have any pronounced gifts or qualifications?
He was fearful and whiney?
hmm…maybe gifting has nothing to do with it…
in that case, what did these two leaders have in common, if anything?
Genesis 39:2
“The Lord was with Joseph,
SO he succeeded in everything he did…”
Exodus 4:12
(The Lord is speaking with Moses)
“Now Go! I will be with you as you speak,
and I will instruct you in what to say.”
THE LORD WAS WITH BOTH OF THEM!
At this point, I excitedly began looking through the Bible to see if this was true of other leaders. Could it be that their qualification came from the fact that God was with them? Is it really that simple?
Joshua
led the Israelites to the Promised Land.
Joshua 1:5-7,9
(God is speaking to Joshua)
“No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live.
For I will be with you as I was with Moses.
I will not fail you or abandon you…
This is my command – be strong and courageous!
Do not be afraid or discouraged.
For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
David
became the King of Israel;
God called him a man after His own heart.
1 Samuel 18:14
“David continued to succeed in everything he did,
for the Lord was with him.”
Jeremiah
was a prophet to the nations
Jeremiah 1:8
“Don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you
and protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Yes. It really is that simple. Not to say it’s easy to lead – cause it’s not – but if God is with you, then you WILL succeed as a leader.
Wait. There’s more.
But you’ll have to read the next blog to find out what.
