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spiritual leadership

Bible Blog Life

God Says: Don’t Be Afraid

The other day I shared 13 Things God Told Joshua. I wanted to expand on one of the thoughts as I know it is something we all struggle with at times. Fear. In verse 9 of chapter 1, God tells Joshua, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

It was easy for God to say this, but think about Joshua for a second. Are you kidding me? Don’t be afraid? What are you talking about God? I am terrified! At least that would be my response. Not only was Joshua now the leader of the God’s people, but he was now responsible for taking this group of people into a land they don’t know much about. Yes, Joshua was one who went into the land with the other spies and brought back a positive report, but let’s be honest, Joshua’s role now was a lot different then when he was Moses’s assistant.

Fear affects all of us. It manifests itself in various ways and it usually involves torment. According to phobialist.com, there are 530 known phobias. Fear is defined as: an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, like to cause pain, or a threat. God knew exactly what the Israelites were about to face. As I ponder this story, I wonder what the conversation between God and Joshua was like? Was all fear eradicated as soon as God spoke? Did it disappear as soon as Joshua stepped out in faith or was there still a tinge of fear? We may never know fully, but one thing we do know is that Joshua was obedient to lead the people of God into the promised land.

Fear has a way of changing us, causing us to do things we wouldn’t normally do. It is interesting to note that fear is mentioned in the Bible 411 different times. God wants us to be free from fear. He understands us. He knows what we struggle with, the fears that keep us in bondage. He is a good God who wants nothing more for us than to be free from all our fears. One of the greatest reasons why we struggle with fear I believe is because we do not have a correct view of Him. We do not always know His proximity to us, His concern for us, nor do we fully know His power to free us from all our fears. The Bible says, “perfect love casts out all fear.” (1 John 4:18) God is love, therefore, it is He who will dispel fear in our lives. You can trust Him, just as Joshua did. Joshua took Gods word to him literally. He hid the words of his God in his heart and he led the people to the Promised land. Remember His word to you, “I will be with you wherever you go.”

Life The Church

Effective Habits for Developing Leaders

One of the very first decisions I made when I became a leader was I did not want to stop growing.  John Maxwell once said, ” Leadership is influence,” and that, “everything rises and falls on leadership.”  A lot of times within the ‘church world,’ we focus our attention on the spiritual or character development of a leader.  Now, these areas are quite important and I am not trying to negate them, but, sometimes we overlook some of the more practical aspects of leadership, namely effective habits.

Often times leaders are not born, they are developed and I want to share a couple of practical, effective habits I believe every developing leader should have.  I have compiled them in no specific order.

1.  Personal Reading

this is an effective habit which can increase insight, knowledge and understanding

2.  Prayer Life

you position yourself to hear from God.  You gain fresh insight and revelation

3.  People Awareness

be aware of the world around you

be aware of what others are going through as they may need you to point them to Christ

4.  A Continuation of Learning | Developing

as a leader it is important to continue to grow

5.  Accountability

develop authentic relationships

develop prayer partners

allow others to speak into your life

6.  Meeting with a Mentor

you gain a different perspective

someone who will listen to you

7.  Journal

you can track your progress

write about what you believe God is calling you to do

These are just a few of the effective habits that every developing leader should develop.  What would you add to the list?