Great Leaders Walk With A Limp
Great leaders walk with a limp. This thought comes from the story of Jacob, as found in the book of Genesis. Here we read of a man who was cunning, scheming, always looking out for himself. You may not have known Jacob, but perhaps some of his relatives have crossed your path. This is a person that when you get to know him you wished you had not. And yet we see God giving special interest to him. In fact, in his later life, he became known as the ‘friend of God’. He was a flawed man, like all of us, and yet God chose to identify Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. By today’s standards his parenting skills would have earned him the label ‘dysfunctional’. God calls him His friend!
We like to put leaders on a pedestal. Certainly there is a facet of leadership where life’s lessons have been proved in the leader and they lead out of their experience. We like to follow one who has been this way before and knows what they are doing, and where they are going. But leaders are flawed people because they are human. We like the hero, but we get disillusioned with the human element in leaders.
It helps to see how God viewed Jacob. Why Jacob, and not a better candidate? One of the assignments Jacob had was to raise a son who would become the leader of the largest populated nation of that day. Should this be entrusted to a schemer like Jacob? Some may speculate the likes of Jacob was all that God had to work with. That view however paints God into a corner leaving Him without options. Rather, I think God deliberately looked for the least likely candidate to work His purpose in. Jacob became a trophy of God’s grace.
So what does this have to do with me, and my life, you ask? Well Jacob, it has a lot to do with you. Life unpacks the unexpected to all of us. Powering along, checking off the goals, accumulating the nest egg, and then life happens; an unexpected crisis arrives on your doorstep. Something beyond the scope of your control occurs. You watch helplessly as this unfolds in your life, as if you were viewing it on a TV screen. You wonder, ‘how did I get here’, ‘why is this happening to me’?
Somebody said, ‘it does not matter whether these are the best of times or the worst of times. These are the only times you have’. We burn so much energy trying to justify and get back to where we were. But perhaps we need to accept that change has come, life is different. Not worse, just different. Perhaps even better! Just maybe God is taking you to a new level of influence. Its been said that ‘those God uses greatly, He wounds deeply’.
So while you may be walking with a limp these days, your level of influence increases. And leadership is all about influence. Understanding that God works His purpose to the randomness of life, gives perspective. Limping along, we help others on their journey.
We like to put leaders on a pedestal. Certainly there is a facet of leadership where life’s lessons have been proved in the leader and they lead out of their experience. We like to follow one who has been this way before and knows what they are doing, and where they are going. But leaders are flawed people because they are human. We like the hero, but we get disillusioned with the human element in leaders.
It helps to see how God viewed Jacob. Why Jacob, and not a better candidate? One of the assignments Jacob had was to raise a son who would become the leader of the largest populated nation of that day. Should this be entrusted to a schemer like Jacob? Some may speculate the likes of Jacob was all that God had to work with. That view however paints God into a corner leaving Him without options. Rather, I think God deliberately looked for the least likely candidate to work His purpose in. Jacob became a trophy of God’s grace.
So what does this have to do with me, and my life, you ask? Well Jacob, it has a lot to do with you. Life unpacks the unexpected to all of us. Powering along, checking off the goals, accumulating the nest egg, and then life happens; an unexpected crisis arrives on your doorstep. Something beyond the scope of your control occurs. You watch helplessly as this unfolds in your life, as if you were viewing it on a TV screen. You wonder, ‘how did I get here’, ‘why is this happening to me’?
Somebody said, ‘it does not matter whether these are the best of times or the worst of times. These are the only times you have’. We burn so much energy trying to justify and get back to where we were. But perhaps we need to accept that change has come, life is different. Not worse, just different. Perhaps even better! Just maybe God is taking you to a new level of influence. Its been said that ‘those God uses greatly, He wounds deeply’.
So while you may be walking with a limp these days, your level of influence increases. And leadership is all about influence. Understanding that God works His purpose to the randomness of life, gives perspective. Limping along, we help others on their journey.
