Grace for Leadership
I am glad that my infectious disease doctor warned me about some of the side effects of the antibiotics. Primarily the fatigue that can be experienced. I have had a good day but early afternoon it seemed that I experienced some unexpected fatigue in the midst of my day. We have also been in the process of slowly adjusting some of my other medication.
I did have my appointment with my infectious disease doctor and he was pleased with my progress yet still concerned about the reoccurring infections. He emphasized once again that he did not believe the cause was a compromised immune system. I am able to discontinue my antibiotics tomorrow morning, so that was good news. I will pick up with my outpatient therapy next week after resetting some of the authorizations following my hospitalization. On Monday I have an appointment with my Urologist to get his take on what we should do going forward to address my infection issue.
We leave a week from Saturday for a trip to Florida. My doctor just said to take all my medical information, “just in case.” Of course I told him that this was perfect timing because the next four to six weeks should be better than the last two.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “Now all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel. But the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him. And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him. And he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them.” Judges 6:33-35
Judges 6 has some great verses. The chapter begins with the calling of Gideon when the Angel of the Lord calls him a “mighty man of valor” as he threshes wheat in fear of the Midianites. The chapter ends with the famous fleece that Gideon puts out looking for assurance that God will indeed deliver Israel. So these verses in the context may seem obscure in light of all the well known verses of this chapter. However, these verses show the first time that others responded to this “unlikely leader’s” call to arms.
Some one astutely observed that you are not a leader if no one is following you. Up to this point it had been Gideon and his first brave act of tearing down an altar to Baal and an idol of Asherah; which he did at night because he was afraid to do it during the day. I believe that there are some observations that we can make about leadership and the “grace” of leadership. I use that word because effective leadership involves grace (favor) from God and grace (favor) from others.
1. God’s grace to lead begins with what we have – “…Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” (Judges 6:14) What you will find is that God equips you as you go, offering to him what you have. It is the same concept of God asking Moses, “what is in your hand?” If is the principle of the “five loaves and two fish.”
2. God’s grace to lead requires humility – “…My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” (Judges 6:15) One could argue Gideon was suffering from an inferiority complex, but so did Moses. Peter would write “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5) If there was anyone who needed to learn about humility in preparation for leadership it was Peter.
3. God’s grace to lead requires obedience – That night the Lord said to him, “…pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it.” (Judges 6:25) This was Gideon’s first act of obedience that we see followed by his process of narrowing down 32,000 men to 300 in order of win a victory that could only be attributed to God. (Judges 7)
4. Grace to lead others comes from God’s Spirit – “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” (Judges 6:16) “Now all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together…But the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet…” (Judges 6:33,34)
The Spirit of God was needed for Gideon to be successful in his endeavors and for people to rally to his side. I like that simple statement of encouragement, “I will be with you.” It doesn’t matter how strong your faith or prepared you are for battle, when you see one army let alone three gather together and camp out on your front lawn it is intimidating. But in contrast to yielding to human fear, “…the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon…”
God’s grace for Gideon to lead resulted in grace from others who followed his call and prepared themselves for battle. Perhaps this is seen in the greatest expression with his army of three hundred armed with pots and torches. This demonstrates confidence in a leader and confidence in the God of the leader for an army to follow this bazaar strategy. Through it all God was patient with Gideon to provide the proof that he needed of God’s direction and presence that would bring the final victory.
In your leadership, in your sphere of influence. Trust the Lord to provide the grace needed from him and others to be effective for the task before you.