Leadership

SCRIPTURE: May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ. 2 Thessalonians 3:5 NLT

THOUGHT: I read a little story this morning about a Mongolian farmer who loves the Lord. His family has 1000 sheep, and each year during college summers, he would come home to shepherd. In that flock, 500 sheep would give birth each summer, and that meant extra-long days and extra vigilance against predators. He talked about how the shepherd leads, so compassionately, so alert to danger, so wisely. There was a lot about love in that short story.

I don’t know about you, but I get a little lift out of hearing that the Lord leads our hearts. That sounds like a good shepherd. Leading has a more personal connotation than directing or guiding; it’s more on-the-ground-in-the-trenches with you. A director conducts a large group by order and discipline. A guide certainly knows the way, but is not relational in his/her job. A good leader is with you and for you. They may direct and guide, but they are out ahead because they’ve won the trust of the people (or sheep) following. And they are only out ahead until they circle around searching for the straggler, tending to the wounded, fighting off the wolves.

So may the Lord, who has won our trust, lead our hearts toward what he so fully understands: love and patient endurance. No one knows the way better.

PRAYER: Oh Great Shepherd, I don’t despise being called a sheep like I used to. I’ve seen the truth about how vulnerable we humans are to pests and predators and our own foibles. And I’ve also seen how you lead my heart with compassion and strength. So lead on into a full understanding and expression of your love and the patient endurance that comes from Christ – you have won my trust.