Everyone Is Leading SomeoneSample

Listen To the Promptings of the Holy Spirit

We have to check the guidance received with the Bible, and then do a gut check. A gut check is listening to the Holy Spirit’s directing for a sustained movement in your heart that points to honoring God.

He is the counselor of every leader’s soul, even without a scheduled appointment. He is not “cousin It” of the Trinity, but the Spirit of the living God at work in us. We must learn to yield to His voice and tune our ear to His leading, asking for clarity instead of suppressing any and every gut check He provides. Too much is riding on our leadership to ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Instead of smothering His guidance, we should be asking for more!

I hope you don’t think these things are just for leaders in the church. They’re not. They’re for every Christ follower, no matter the arena in which he or she leads. There is no line of demarcation that divides the sacred leader from the secular leader based on the field of endeavor. Spending time with God, knowing and obeying His Word and learning to trust our spiritual gut checks are not luxuries for pastor-type individuals. Every leader, every parent and every employer must be spending time with God if he or she hopes to discover where He is leading them and their team. What do you imagine God could do with your business, your family, if you intentionally spent time with Him, seeking His wisdom and His way?

God is often more interested in the journey than the destination as He leads us and shapes our character. You will make mistakes and get it wrong sometimes. I will too. Don’t beat yourself up. I have come to rest as a leader through valuing the times when I trust God and obey Him, knowing even in my stumbles that I am growing stronger. If my ultimate goal is to always be proved right, I’m in trouble!

We imagine the end or goal as a glorious finish line where a trophy waits inscribed with our name, but God is all about the process. He’s got the end taken care of. It’s secure. He’s concerned with whether we honor and glorify Him along the way. If you’re going to fail (and you will), “fail forward” as John Maxwell likes to say. Be moving toward Him, even as you stumble.