The Cost of Leadership Part 6
Please start with the first 5 posts in this series if you haven’t already.
The fifth aspect of the cost of going deep is prayer, and the time it takes to pray. Deeper for me was when our daughter walked away from our family for 8 years. And God called my husband and me to continue walking and serving faithfully when the waves we had to cross got even bigger. We continued to pray for years that the Lord would bring her back, keep her safe and draw her to Himself.
Sometimes as we serve and lead, God does not answer for a long time. But He is at work even if we cannot see it. We want our personal lives and the ministry we are leading to have immediate answers. It just doesn’t normally work that way. And, we must remember to pray BEFORE we plan and lead, not after, asking Him to bless what we’ve already decided and planned to do.
We are to pray, then surrender to His way and His timing in carrying out through you what He assigns to you. Otherwise, we will lag behind or run ahead of God and His timing. Trust Him as He works, and patiently, constantly pray!
Aspect 6 of going deep is staying, even when we want to leave. At times He will ask us to be faithful in tough places until He releases us from an assignment or shows us how to stay. My going deeper was a hard season during my 22 years at LifeWay. I wanted to leave…He said no. Eventually, things changed and staying was not only what the Lord told me to do, but what I wanted to do. I would have missed the sweetest years of serving if I had left when it got hard and I was so done with it all!
Job said, “Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?” Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said.
Job 2:10
Remember, Paul’s thorn was never taken away this side of heaven but God’s grace was sufficient as he faithfully continued his earthly assignment. Trust Him in your current assignment until He shows you a different one.
Next week we will cover aspects 7 and 8 to conclude the cost of going deep. Be watching.
