The tasks and requirements with the training in order to lead the way God intended.
Being a leader, whether in the form of a supervisor at your job, to being a parent, to being a teacher or someone who people look to, isn’t easy. Often times you are faced with criticism, backlash, challenging task, and many more issues that can plague your circumstances. We influence people even though we don’t think about it, how we influence them though reflects who we are as a person. Did they get good or bad influence from us, did we show them who are in a good or bad light? Without even thinking about, we will influence thousands of people in our lifetime even if you are the isolated person in your friend group or family. Today’s world makes that extremely easy for people to do, simply make a social media account, do something that is mindless and bam, now you are called an ‘influencer’. Again, what are you showing them reflects who you are, are you showing them good and useful things or are you showing horrific and bad things?
Being called by God is something not everyone can do easily, it’s a great honor and privilege yet also comes with the heavy responsibility required from you. It may require you to give up a lot of things and then pick up much more difficult things and circumstances that you would have imagined. However, it’s in these times of our struggle that we rely on God and then can show up with him holding us up and giving him the glory when people ask. Giving him honor and getting rid of self-pride is normally the first step in order to lead in a Godly and righteous way. We must rely on God for confidence in this newfound responsibility and many more things, we will most likely collapse if we rely on our own confidence so ask God for his strength and confidence. Ask God to lead the way for your life while giving you the confidence to do what he is asking you to do, watch the people around find hope in him again. With this might come the criticism that is expected when you lead people and thing, this is where we ask God for protection against those trying to harm us.
It is with God’s protection that we can accomplish what he has set us to do knowing that he will take care of us and help us through the difficult times. With his protection and guidance watching over us, he will lead us into the proper training and refinement we need as a person to successfully carry out his will. The training period is the most important as it prepares us for the world we will encounter and the judgement we will receive from others as we go about doing his will. The training period comes first in order to prepare you, a soldier doesn’t learn how to fight in the middle of a war, he learns before he is sent out. So, allow God to teach you, change you, protect you, be your strength, and show you his love in order to love and forgive others as he loves and forgives you. Part of this training will be working on your character and making you the person he needs you to be both mentally and spiritually.
All of these things we can learn by reading who Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior is today as he was back then. This includes the characteristics mentioned before and now the character building he is going to do to prepare you. Authenticity and Integrity are the two biggest ones as they do directly reflect the kind of person and heart you have toward yourself, God, and others. We are to practice what we teach and say for others to do and not be hypocritical of anyone if its something we say to do yet do not do ourselves. This includes anything from how you treat others to what you do, how you do it, and even when you do it. Do what you teach and lift people up with your words and bring life and light to their situation, help them stay high above the darkness to see Jesus’ truth. With this comes to not only do things because people are looking, do good things simply because it is good to do.
Do not donate huge amounts for popularity or because you want to show people you are a ‘good person’, do it because it helps those in desperate need for what that money can provide. Doing things in secret is where God sees you, not people and the world, do things when God sees you; it is written
‘Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.’
https://biblehub.com/matthew/6-4.htm NLT.
Do not make big ceremonies because of your ‘charitable acts’ do it out of the kindness and love of your heart, do this as a sign of humility to The Lord. Humility is the biggest key in order to see God in your life, we must do this in order to pray, listen to him, and wait for a response from him.
Humility is simply saying that we understand that he is supreme leader and ruler above all, and as his leaders, we must lead by his standards not the world’s. The world tells you to climb as high as you can in the work force to use as a trophy, but why? Why overwork yourself, burn yourself out, and go to extreme lengths in order to get a worldly standard of a leader? Let God do the exalting for you so then you may say that he brought you up higher and not yourself or the world. Let God bring you up in order to prevent from having to be brought down for it is written.’
“When you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the seat of honor. What if someone who is more distinguished than you were also invited? The host will come and say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you will be embarrassed, and you will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table! “Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, ‘Friend, we have a better place for you!’ Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
- Bible.com Luke 8-11 NLT
Humble yourself and let God take care of the rest and exalt in the proper time and way for you to achieve what the has for you. In the meantime, focus on getting done what he needs for you to get done, help the poor, needy, discriminated, and other injustices. Do not focus on the small, insignificant things and become legalistic, focus on the bigger picture of helping people who need it and ask God to show you how. This too is also a form of humility since you are not associating with people of high ranking and toting that around like the world wants us to do. Generosity comes from doing such things for people, you may start getting visions or dreams to help those and start something revolutionary for people like them that need help. Ask God for a vision that is so big for you that you would need to rely on him and have faith in order to accomplish such a task in the first place.
With all of this, you will face the critics of this world and possibly in the body of Christ as well. The world would want you to stop doing these things and some people might get jealous upon seeing how God is working in your life. Do not pay attention to them, bless them as we are told to do, and then continue to work as God has said for you to do. One thing I have learned is ‘If I am facing opposition and enemies, you are going in the right direction’. If you are being a reflection of Christ who is in you, people will try to stop you, keep going and pushing for Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior has fought and will fight your battles. Remember that God will train you, protect you, give you strength, and give you his confidence within him. Know everything will be Okay and trust him, may God bless and keep you, Amen!!!!