If there is one leadership lesson that has shaped my character and my outlook on leadership, it’s the concept of perseverance. One website defines it as a virtue, adding that it is the steadfast pursuit of an aim. I see perseverance as staying the course when all other data may suggest the situation is either a failure or impossible.
Perseverance requires patience, a discipline of waiting, and to believe in a future that those around us may not believe. I find that perseverance is often a theoretically admirable trait, but in the moment, we understand why we would not want to persevere in light of suffering or failure.
Moses is a Biblical leader who persevered in difficult moments. I imagine that leading the Israelites from Egypt and into the desert was a difficult feat. The more than a million men, women and children who followed him may not have had the entire vision of life beyond Egypt. All they had known was slavery in Egypt. And the trek to leave Egypt was dangerous, with the Egyptian army racing to destroy them as a nation.
The Israelites were stuck between the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army. The consensus was, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?” (Exodus 14.11) Moses could have easily believed that his leadership and vision had failed. He had indeed led the Israelites to be slaughtered and destroyed. He may have misheard God and the situation did not present itself as “from God.”
But rather than turn back and change course, Moses persevered in his calling as a leader and in leading the Israelites to safety. He did not shrink from the vision nor the calling, despite the suffering and the failure before him.
One of the struggles I have with persevering is that there is no way of knowing how long we have to persevere before we see the things for which we want to believe God. So persevering doesn’t operate within a time-frame. Instead, it has to be a part of our character, to persevere and not shrink back when the going gets tough.
I find that God has taken me through seasons of suffering where I have had to struggle whether I would persevere or call it quits. In my leadership in ministry, there have been seasons of great joy and seasons where I have wondered why I do what I do. I have raised doubts about my passions, my skills, and my calling.
Currently, I am enjoying this season of ministry and it is great to see fruit emerge from our labor. But I had a realization the other day that I would have never seen God’s work had I not persevered during some difficult seasons of the ministry. Perseverance has built up my character, it has strengthened my calling, and it has made this season of ministry even sweeter.
The trials of ministry and the trials of leadership have forced me to believe God during the times of blessing and the times of want. And as I see God do a new thing in my life and the life of our ministry, I am grateful to have persevered.
-----
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to grab the RSS feed. Also, please take a moment to submit this post through "Share This" above.
-----
About a year ago, I came across an article in an in-flight magazine about roasting my own coffee. Rather than buying already roasted coffee, I could purchase green beans (which are cheaper), and roast the coffee at home. This would save me money but it would allow me to enjoy an even fresher cup of coffee.
Recent Comments