As a leader you’ll be called upon to make decisions regarding relationships, money, time, values, opportunities and disputes. And your decisions will show up on the bottom line. There, in the clear light of day, your leadership will be judged. And there’s something else you need to know; in that realm it takes longer to recognize your brilliance or stupidity, because you’re forced to lead for long periods of time without the benefit of knowing if you made the right call. By the time your crop starts coming in, it’s too late to change your agricultural procedure. You have to wait until the next season of planting. When it comes to leadership, uncertainty is a permanent part of all progress; it never goes away! Furthermore, uncertainty isn’t an indication of poor leadership, it just underscores the need for it; it’s the environment in which good leadership is most often discovered. As a leader you may think you should always know what to do, but in reality there will be few occasions when you are absolutely certain. It’s why King Jehoshaphat prayed, “We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help.” Since you’ll constantly be called on to make decisions with limited information, your goal should not be to eliminate uncertainty but to develop the ability to trust God and be courageous and clear in spite of it. It’s not your job to remove uncertainty; it’s your job to inspire clarity, faith and progress in the midst of it. When you can do that, you are learning to be a leader.
A friend asked me to read this devotional this morning -- I usually read this devotional at night, but am so glad I read it during the day! It was a wonderful reminder to me about planting seeds and making the right decisions when "planting". I grew up on a farm and my uncle was the primary farmer of our land, and still is. When a farmer plants corn seeds, corn is what comes up. If wheat is planted, wheat comes up.
Sometimes in ministry, seeds of love, perseverance, faith, discipline, and the like are "planted" -- sometimes for years, but the "crop" doesn't show up for weeks, months, even years later. But what's important is that the seeds were planted. Another friend of mine put this quote on the wall in my office, "Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant."
So, today -- remember all of the seeds you plant -- purpose to plant good seeds. And ask the Lord of the harvest for His help!
