Leadership Learns

I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days I set out during the night with a few others. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on. – Nehemiah 2:11-12

Nehemiah was a wise and able leader. What he and the Jewish remnant were able to accomplish in just 52 days (rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem) was an administrative and engineering marvel. No doubt, God's hand was upon them all, but it was clearly present in providing wisdom and protection to His anointed and appointed leader.

As with Nehemiah, a visionary leader often gains an understanding of where God is directing before those who follow do. Perhaps this is because a biblically informed leader walks with God daily and humbly seeks His direction, but it might also be a result of focus and attention to the task at hand. However a plan begins to form, the wise leader will not speak until the direction is fully formed in his or her own mind and heart. God’s appointed leader will also seek the wise counsel of other believers, realizing that there is always wisdom in a multitude of (Word-influenced) counselors (Proverbs 12:15).

Whatever we find ourselves doing in this world, may we always seek to understand God's mind first, gain some assurance that we are aligned with it, then work within the family of God to see things carried out according to His will and not our own.

Leadership always has to be learning. – Jack Hyles