The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?”With a prayer to the God of heaven, I replied, ” If it please Your Majesty and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.” Nehemiah 2:4-5
An important leader in our church told me that his work schedule had stretched him to the limit and he didn’t know what to do about his church commitments. In these situations my default mode is to cut a person some slack. “Why don’t we relieve you of your responsibility for a time,” I’ll usually say, “and you tell me when you are ready to serve again.” Sometimes that is the right course, but I didn’t think so in this case. I felt he needed to cut back on his work schedule (which he himself had set) rather than curtail his church involvement.
I told him I would pray and get back to him. Prayer only reinforced my view, and at that point I faced a decision. I knew that challenging him to sacrifice for Christ in this manner posed a big risk. He might misconstrue my appeal as an inconsiderate effort to exploit him and consequently abandon both his ministry and the church and leave us in dire straits. I decided, however, that I had to push through that wall of uncertainty and risk and say what I thought God wanted me to say to him.
I am thankful that he received my words well and continued in ministry.
Every day faithful leaders face hazardous moments, large and small. Such moments always require courage if we are to give optimum leadership for the Lord’s sake.
Nehemiah faced one of these gut-check moments. As a captive in a foreign land he was cupbearer to the king. He wanted to return home and help his fellow Israelites, but he knew that bringing up such a request to the king, who had the power of life and death, would be to take his life in his hands. “I was badly frightened,” says Nehemiah, but he goes on boldly to present his request (see Neh. 2:1-8). In order to lead God’s people, Nehemiah had to press through danger.
Courage is not something leaders need every now and then at a ministry crossroads such as a building program. No, leaders of integrity need courage every day as we face decisions, meetings, and challenges that have the potential for loss and pain. We risk emotional pain, ministry problems, relationships, reputation, money, time, failure. We are tempted to play it safe.
But we build our leadership and ministry on dozens and hundreds of daily steps of courage: confronting a halfhearted staffer, speaking our vision, making a commitment, reading a critical letter, evaluating our ministry’s progress. These are the decisive moments that define a courageous ministry.
—Craig Brian Larson
Reflection
In what hazardous situations have I been most tempted to “wimp out”? Do have a lot to lose, or have already given everything to the Lord? Which steps of courage do I find the most faith for, and why?
Prayer
Father, when Christ lived on earth, he spoke words that were difficult for people to hear, and he was often misunderstood and rejected. Yet he continued to speak your truth and did the work you gave him to do in order to accomplish your purpose. Give me the courage to follow in his footsteps.
“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”
—Anaïs Nin, American author
Leadership DevotionsCopyright Tyndale House Publishers.Used by permission.
