Courage to Lead

As leaders one of our greatest challenges is finding the courage to lead.  To make those critical decisions, have those hard conversations, or take that step of faith into uncertainty.  A great mentor of mine once told me, “To grow as a leader your first step is to be willing to make a decision.  It will not always be the right decision, but don’t be afraid to make a decision.  Because even bad decisions lead to powerful lessons.”  Fear paralyzes people into inaction, and limits their ability to discern the direction they need to take.  This was the case in Job’s life before God took him through an intense process of delivering him from fear.  Job was a successful business man and had established great wealth and influence.  He was no doubt a good leader in his time.  But have you ever wondered why God allowed Job to go through the pain and tribulation that he faced? 

     I often wrestled with the story of Job’s life.  How could it be fair for God to have a conversation with the enemy of someone’s soul behind their back and give him permission to attack their life?  After taking a deep look into the story of Job I discovered a profound response to my question.  Job 3:25 reveals a condition that Job had before he faced his trials.  In this verse he says, “What I feared has come upon me, what I dreaded has happened to me.”  In using the past tense “feared” we see that before anything bad happened to Job he found himself in a battle with fear.  He feared the things that happened to him long before they ever happened.  But God loved Job too much, and had too great of an assignment on his life to leave him in such a paralyzing state.

 

In Job 5:17-21, Job’s friend revealed the purpose of his pain when he told Job, “Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.  For He wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal.  From six calamities he will rescue you; in seven no harm will touch you.  In famine he will deliver you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword.  You will be protected from the lash of the tongue, and need not fear when destruction comes.  You will laugh at destruction and famine” (NIV).  Following Job’s admission of fear, God speaks through a trusted friend to say, Job by the time I’m done with you, fear will not be your problem.  God wants to do the same for you.

     So how do we face our fears, and overcome them to lead with greater effectiveness?  Let me offer a few practical steps.

1. Admit that fear is a critical factor in limiting your leadership.  

• In Job’s situation his fear was not revealed until after his troubles.  What would have happened if Job was honest about his fear from the beginning and not allowed pride to hinder him from confronting it?

 

2. Submit your fears to God, and pray for courage to overcome them.

• God’s perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).  Fear is often rooted in our inability to trust God’s plan and provision for our lives.  As we submit our fear to Him in prayer, we learn to trust Him at a greater level. 

 

3. Do your research to eliminate as much uncertainty as possible.

• When making decisions it’s always important to use evidence based research to help make the best decisions possible.  You might not be able to eliminate all uncertainty, but you can often narrow it down to have a smaller impact.

 

4. Take intentional steps of faith as you discover the courage to lead.

• Make decisions as you are led by your peace (Isaiah 55:12), and rest in the knowledge that God will work all things together for your good (Romans 8:28).  All things truly mean all things, both your success and failures.