There is a quandary faced routinely by upper management all across the corporate world. How can we develop today’s workers into tomorrow’s leaders?
Scores of development programs are available to take on that issue, but Lead Like Jesus believes there is a better way—a spiritual approach, gleaned fresh from the pages of Scripture. A great example of a person who underwent God’s leadership development course is Moses.
LD101. Losing Self-Confidence. Moses’ first class began in an unusual way (which is fairly usual when God is involved). You know the story of how as a baby Moses’ life was spared by means of a basket in the bulrushes, and how he was found and adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter. As a grown, self-confident man, he tried to exact justice for the mistreatment of a Hebrew slave by killing the offender. He was found out and had to flee for his life, leaving his self-confidence behind.
LD201. Learning Who’s Boss. The second class required Moses to live as a herder in the wilderness of Midian for 40 years. Settled down with a wife and child, a much humbler Moses encountered God in the burning bush. God gave him the task of liberating His people from slavery in Egypt and leading them to the Promised Land. Moses well knew that he couldn’t accomplish this assignment in his own strength—but God assured him that he could do it with His help.
LD301. Gaining God-Grounded Confidence. In the third class, Moses—equipped and empowered by God—served Him and His people as a quality leader and, as history records, had the proverbial trip of a lifetime!
God had a special purpose that He wanted Moses to accomplish, and His leadership development course was custom-design to ensure Moses’ success. The same goes for each of us. God has a purpose for me and for you, and the course He has designed is perfectly built to equip and empower us to fulfill it. To be sure, we’ll take many more classes than just these three examples—and we may have to retake a few—but the same end is always in view.
Think about Jesus. He knew His purpose—to give His life as a ransom for many—and He never deviated from it. Because He never doubted the unconditional love His Father had for Him, His confidence was fully grounded in God. Jesus was able to confront and overcome every obstacle that stood in the way of fulfilling His purpose.
God uses obstacles and challenges in our lives to drive us toward the true Object of our security. If our confidence is in someone or something besides Him, including ourselves, turmoil and fear will result. However, as we stay engaged in God’s leadership development course and refuse to drop out, we gain a God-grounded confidence that provides a peace beyond all understanding—and that’s truly awesome!
If you haven’t given much thought to self-confidence lately, here are few questions to ponder:
- How would you define confidence?
- What’s the difference between self-confidence and God-grounded confidence? Can you think of examples of how it plays out in your life?
- What is Moses teaching us about confidence? How can a leader apply these lessons in today’s environment?
Additional Thoughts on Confidence
“When leaders lack confidence they tend to mask their weaknesses… Such leaders mistakenly think they can’t show any vulnerability, because they’ll look weak, so instead they create a persona they think looks better.” (Business Matters)
“Confident leaders have a different way of thinking; they celebrate their own achievements in a humble manner. They also accept their strengths and weaknesses in a constructive and balanced way.” (Business Matters)
“To be confident is to act in faith.” Bernard Bynion
