Servant Resources

The Edges of the Day

My two favorite times of the day are at the edges, dawn and dusk. Dawn, because it holds so much promise. The world stands new each morning, it is a day that has never been lived in the history of the world. It may look an awful lot like yesterday, but it’s not the same. Dusk is another favorite time because it speaks to me of completion, having finished what was needed and putting behind what is left undone.

 

Jesus said that each day has enough trouble of its own. We don’t need to borrow from tomorrow’s problems; it is enough to face what today brings with the strength and insight that he provides. His presence is only available to me in the moment; I cannot be in his presence one minute ago or one minute into the future, only now. So I seek to be fully present as each moment passes.

 

Take the days and moments as they come. You will never get to relive them, so look for him at every turn and he’ll be sure to lead you in all your ways and throughout all your days.

Your Servant is Listening

Samuel was a great prophet and leader of the nation of Israel, yet his life came out of relative obscurity. Similar to the humble experiences of Joseph who came from a pit and a prison, and David who came from shepherding flocks, Samuel came into God’s service as a result of his Mother’s prayers.

 Samuel learned a valuable lesson at a very young age; he learned to discern the voice of God. If you recall the story, he was awakened in the night by a voice calling him. He though that it was Eli the priest, but Eli taught him to understand that it was God himself, speaking to him. Samuel learned to approach God as his servant and to simply say; “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”

A question that comes to my mind is whether we can truly be a servant if we are not listening to the master. If we do not listen, how can we know his direction? We risk running around trying to do what we think he wants of us, but may be missing it all together.

Perhaps we need to simply slow down, quiet our hearts and ask him to speak…then just listen.

Mercy or Love?

Jesus was often approached on the basis of mercy by those who did not know him personally. The father of the demon-possessed boy called out the Lord to have mercy on him;[1] two blind men called out to Jesus for mercy as he passed by,[2] and the scriptures call us to come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.[3]

 

We can appeal to God on the basis of mercy.  We can come to him for forgiveness to cover our wrongdoing and he will respond. However, it is a much better approach to appeal to him on the basis of our relationship with him. It is similar to a relationship that a child has with a parent. If every interaction required the child to come on the basis of mercy, no true relationship would exist.

 

To build a relationship requires us to interact on the basis of love. Love under girds mercy, for without love, mercy is unavailable. God is merciful because of his great love for us; we are merciful because of our love for him.

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[1] Matthew 17:15

[2] Matthew 20:30

[3] Hebrews 4:16

How to Become Wise

One of the great promises of scripture is God’s promise to provide you with wisdom if you ask for it. James tells us that if we ask God, “who give generously to all without finding fault,” it will be given to us. There is one small condition however, we must believe and not doubt that he will do it.

 

Every single day we need wisdom to deal with the things we encounter. If you’re like me, you have a tendency to just make a decision and move forward the best you can. But there is a better way, and God outlines the two-step process.

 

Ask…

 

Believe…

 

and it’s yours!

Corporate Turnaround Artist - Part 10

Principle 1 – Begin by committing to do what is right

Principle 2 – Stay on track by observing six spiritual disciplines

Principle 3 – Address moral issues first

Principle 4 – Lay out the plan for what you want to accomplish

Principle 5 – Open closed doors

Principle 6 – Commit to action

Principle 7 – Call your leaders higher

Principle 8 – Clearly explain your intention

Principle 9 – Remind others of their calling

Principle 10 – Provide a structure for status updates

 

How do you know whether or not what you want accomplished is indeed getting done, and getting done according to the standards you have set? In Hezekiah’s case, his leaders reported back to him in 2 Chronicles 29:18, 19. They told him that they had completed the task of cleansing the temple. They also went beyond a simple overview and detailed their specific areas of accomplishment as well.

 

Receiving regular feedback on what you desire to be accomplished is one of the basic components of leadership. It allows you to know if your expectations are being fulfilled, and provides a means for your leaders to connect with you around objectives.

 

In order for you to receive clear status updates you must first set your expectation. Not just in terms of what you want accomplished, but also in terms of the way you want it done. If your values are not clear you may end up with the result you requested, but with unintended consequences as well.

 

You must also set the level of detail you expect to have reported back. If you expect an overwhelming amount of detail then you run the risk of stifling trust; yet if you never request more than a simple overview, you may be missing things that are critical for you to know. You’ve got to clearly identify the “pulse” of what you need to know; the essential elements that are important enough to have assurance that your direction is being carried out.

 

Regular feedback also affords the opportunity for course correction as necessary. If a ship leaves a harbor for a distant port, and its course is off by one degree, the longer it goes in that direction, the longer it takes to get back on course. The same it true with the execution of your strategies and plans. It is much easier to make changes along the way then it is once the project is completed.

 

If you find that the assignment is not going well, you need to determine the cause. There are many different things that can affect the outcome of a particular task—many ways to get off course:

 

-          Perhaps your instruction was unclear

-          Maybe your communication was open to interpretation

-          It is possible that they didn’t listen well or got distracted

-          Possibly they didn’t understand the importance of the task

-          It is conceivable that you gave more “rope” than was prudent

-          It could be that you assigned a task beyond their ability

 

Set up your reporting expectations at the same time that you assign the responsibility. Different people and diverse tasks will require unique timeframes for reporting. Understanding these and getting them right is the responsibility of the leader. No one can do that for you.