I recently attended the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta, and I have nothing but good things to say. I always leave these events full of energy, excitement, and permission to dream big. Two weeks later, I'm still thinking about one session where Christine Caine reminded the audience of a story in the Bible. I think its important for the leaders of our generation to pay attention to. Check it out.
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God had led his people out of slavery, he had turned a sea into a sidewalk so they could escape, he was literally with them in the form of a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, he had made food fall from the sky so they wouldn't go hungry - these people had seen many tangible miracles. They'd seen God do the impossible in order to prove that he was both loving and capable.
They've been walking and wandering in the desert, and it's finally time for them to enter the promised land. A land flowing with milk and honey (and probably Starbucks vanilla lattes). This place was the best of the best - and it's what God had promised them all along.
God asked Moses to send 12 people into the promised land to take a look and report back to the people - the leaders of each tribe. Their names were Shammua, Shaphat, Igal, Palti, Gaddiel, Gaddi, Ammiel, Sethur, Nahbi, Geuel, Caleb, and Joshua.
When they returned, here's what they reported:
Here's what Joshua said:
But the others were too afraid and kept complaining. They were so scared that they would be slaughtered by the giants living in the land. And guess what? God still gave the Israelites the promised land - but only after the 10 leaders and anyone over 20 years of age had died. Out of the 12, only Joshua and Caleb actually experienced the land of milk and honey.
An entire generation missed out on the promise that God was providing simply because of the perspective of their leaders.
This thought terrifies me. I'll be honest - there are times where it's hard to believe that God is going to come through. The things in front of me can seem to scary or too difficult and so I find myself justifying why I should give up. But I can tell you one thing - I do not want to be the Shammua-Shaphat-Igal-Paltu-Gaddiel-Gaddi-Ammiel-Sethur-Nahbi-Geuel-kind of leader. I want to be a Joshua or a Caleb.
We're not like the Israelites. Most of us have never seen a pillar of fire on our evening commutes and we don't skip the line at Kroger because we think it will rain bread in the morning. But we've seen miracles, right?
I've seen God take the worst parts of me and turn them into something beautiful. I've experienced God give me a second chance, and a third chance, and even when I mess up again, he gives me joy and makes my dreams come true. And I know that if we were sitting down for coffee with each other, you could tell me ways that God has done the same for you. We've seen and experienced tangible miracles.
And yet - when we find ourselves up against the giants of our own lives, we often become paralyzed. We forget all that God has done and all that God has promised and instead convince ourselves that it would be better to stay in the desert than journey into the promised land.
But I don't want that for you and me. And I most certainly don't want the entire generation behind us to miss out on what God has promised simply because we chose to have a bad attitude.
It is your responsibility as a leader to SEE what God is doing and then help OTHERS to see it, too.
For those of us who are leaders - at work, at home, with our friends - it's essential that we use our influence well. (side note: you don't need a position to be a leader. If you have influence in any capacity, you have leadership and you're responsible.)
First, we've got to see what God is doing. We need to remind ourselves daily about who God is, what he says about you and me, and what his plans are while we are here. We've got to keep this right in front of our faces. We need to remove distractions - comparison, meaningless things that consume our time, fear of doing the wrong thing - and keep our eyes fixed on the one who is dreaming bigger about each of our lives than we can in this little context of one lifetime.
Second, it's our job to show others what we know about God. The last thing Jesus said when he left earth was to "go and make disciples." [Matthew 28:19]. That's just a fancy way to say, "show others what I'm up to and get them involved."
Our friends need us to share what we see. We've all been at the place where we absolutely could not see what God was doing in the midst of our circumstances. But looking back, God was all over the place, perfectly orchestrating events and conversations. What if we had someone beside us to show us what God was up to, or at least what he is capable of, while we are in the dark of our circumstances. What if we didn't need hindsight to know that God was a part of our stories? That's the power of leadership - we can help others see God without ever seeing a change in their circumstances.
That's it. See and show. It's simple, and yet it's hard. It's time consuming, it's heart-wrenching, it's emotional. It takes intentionality. But that's our responsibility. It's our obligation. This isn't a dress rehearsal - this life is all we've got. The hours are urgent, and we have to get this right.
An entire generation hangs in the balance of the choices we are making today. Our perspective matters. You and I believe that God is up to something BIG in our midst. Let's work together to keep that at the forefront of our minds and bring others along with us.
---
God had led his people out of slavery, he had turned a sea into a sidewalk so they could escape, he was literally with them in the form of a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, he had made food fall from the sky so they wouldn't go hungry - these people had seen many tangible miracles. They'd seen God do the impossible in order to prove that he was both loving and capable.
They've been walking and wandering in the desert, and it's finally time for them to enter the promised land. A land flowing with milk and honey (and probably Starbucks vanilla lattes). This place was the best of the best - and it's what God had promised them all along.
God asked Moses to send 12 people into the promised land to take a look and report back to the people - the leaders of each tribe. Their names were Shammua, Shaphat, Igal, Palti, Gaddiel, Gaddi, Ammiel, Sethur, Nahbi, Geuel, Caleb, and Joshua.
When they returned, here's what they reported:
"We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are very powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large."
[Numbers 13:27-28]
[Numbers 13:27-28]
In other words, it's just too hard.
Then one of the men, Caleb, silenced the people and said:
"We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it."
[Numbers 13:30]
[Numbers 13:30]
Here's what Joshua said:
"The land we passed is exceedingly good. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them."
[Numbers 14:7-10]
[Numbers 14:7-10]
But the others were too afraid and kept complaining. They were so scared that they would be slaughtered by the giants living in the land. And guess what? God still gave the Israelites the promised land - but only after the 10 leaders and anyone over 20 years of age had died. Out of the 12, only Joshua and Caleb actually experienced the land of milk and honey.
An entire generation missed out on the promise that God was providing simply because of the perspective of their leaders.
This thought terrifies me. I'll be honest - there are times where it's hard to believe that God is going to come through. The things in front of me can seem to scary or too difficult and so I find myself justifying why I should give up. But I can tell you one thing - I do not want to be the Shammua-Shaphat-Igal-Paltu-Gaddiel-Gaddi-Ammiel-Sethur-Nahbi-Geuel-kind of leader. I want to be a Joshua or a Caleb.
We're not like the Israelites. Most of us have never seen a pillar of fire on our evening commutes and we don't skip the line at Kroger because we think it will rain bread in the morning. But we've seen miracles, right?
I've seen God take the worst parts of me and turn them into something beautiful. I've experienced God give me a second chance, and a third chance, and even when I mess up again, he gives me joy and makes my dreams come true. And I know that if we were sitting down for coffee with each other, you could tell me ways that God has done the same for you. We've seen and experienced tangible miracles.
And yet - when we find ourselves up against the giants of our own lives, we often become paralyzed. We forget all that God has done and all that God has promised and instead convince ourselves that it would be better to stay in the desert than journey into the promised land.
But I don't want that for you and me. And I most certainly don't want the entire generation behind us to miss out on what God has promised simply because we chose to have a bad attitude.
It is your responsibility as a leader to SEE what God is doing and then help OTHERS to see it, too.
For those of us who are leaders - at work, at home, with our friends - it's essential that we use our influence well. (side note: you don't need a position to be a leader. If you have influence in any capacity, you have leadership and you're responsible.)
First, we've got to see what God is doing. We need to remind ourselves daily about who God is, what he says about you and me, and what his plans are while we are here. We've got to keep this right in front of our faces. We need to remove distractions - comparison, meaningless things that consume our time, fear of doing the wrong thing - and keep our eyes fixed on the one who is dreaming bigger about each of our lives than we can in this little context of one lifetime.
Second, it's our job to show others what we know about God. The last thing Jesus said when he left earth was to "go and make disciples." [Matthew 28:19]. That's just a fancy way to say, "show others what I'm up to and get them involved."
Our friends need us to share what we see. We've all been at the place where we absolutely could not see what God was doing in the midst of our circumstances. But looking back, God was all over the place, perfectly orchestrating events and conversations. What if we had someone beside us to show us what God was up to, or at least what he is capable of, while we are in the dark of our circumstances. What if we didn't need hindsight to know that God was a part of our stories? That's the power of leadership - we can help others see God without ever seeing a change in their circumstances.
That's it. See and show. It's simple, and yet it's hard. It's time consuming, it's heart-wrenching, it's emotional. It takes intentionality. But that's our responsibility. It's our obligation. This isn't a dress rehearsal - this life is all we've got. The hours are urgent, and we have to get this right.
An entire generation hangs in the balance of the choices we are making today. Our perspective matters. You and I believe that God is up to something BIG in our midst. Let's work together to keep that at the forefront of our minds and bring others along with us.