Encouraged by this today…and praying for Colorado.

“In all of [this growth in simplicity], we can sometimes get the mistaken impression of uninterrupted progress forward.  Even the use of the term ‘stages’ can unwittingly convey the idea of leaving one level for a higher one, never to return again.  I have not found it to be so.  My experience has been much more fluid and undulating.  One day I may be experiencing an intimate attention to Christ’s presence that is well-nigh amazing, and the next day I am in the ‘Slough of Despond.’  I can alternate between being meekly submissive and stubbornly rebellious with surprising speed…

But it is not a spiritual roller coaster either, because through all the motion there is a sense of progress and growth.  Whereas before the hard thing was to seek God’s face, more and more the hard thing is to refrain from seeking him.  Although many times we do not pay attention to the holy Whisper, increasingly we do.  We are less and less discouraged by our many wanderings in the wilderness because, having tasted the land of promise, we desire it more and more.  As much as we may flirt with double-minded living, our real love is singleness of purpose, and increasingly it is capturing our heart… 

Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, ‘Pray for me that I not loosen my grip on the hands of Jesus even under the guise of ministering to the poor.’  That is our first task: to grip the hands of Jesus with such tenacity that we are obliged to follow his lead, to seek first his kingdom…

A fourth advice in holy obedience is to get up quickly and keep going if you stumble and fall.  You will fall, you know.  I shared one incident of victory, but I could also tell you of so many times when stubborn self-will would shake its defiant fist at the gentle Voice…

But when we do fail we do not need to give excessive time mourning the loss.  We need to make confession, get up, and start again immediately.  Nor should we linger at the site of battles won.  The issue in holy obedience is not whether we failed or succeeded yesterday or this morning, but whether we are obedient now.  Does heaven’s light blind us to all other affections now?  Is our eye single, are we living in simplicity now?

None of us can live in holy obedience on our own.  We need the help and encouragement, and even rebuke, of our brothers and sisters.

In our day a great crowd of concerns presses into our little lives, demanding attention.  Neighbors are lonely; marriages are floundering; social injustice is prolific; world hunger is escalating.  We are pulled, pushed, torn.  We need not answer these concerns by rushing out in double-minded obedience.  With our eyes blinded to all else by a flaming vision of God, we may respond decisively in holy obedience.”

Foster, Freedom of Simplicity, pgs. 119, 125, 127, 128, 129

I once had a wise person tell me that anger is not a primary emotion.

She said many psychologists think that there are only two primary emotions:

Hurt

and

Fear

I don’t know how you would prove that.  Anger is in the Bible. 

But I always think about that when I feel myself get angry.

What am I really upset about?

And if I’m honest, it’s usually because my feelings are hurt or I’m afraid.

It’s kind of like a little girl who is getting picked on and she gets defensive and defiant.

When really her heart is just sad because she wants to be liked.

Or when Caden grits his teeth in anger – then when I ask what’s hurt his heart, he immediately melts into a puddle of tears.

Sometimes God does that to me. 

He’ll stop me in my tracks and ask, “Jamie, what’s really bothering you?”

Just stopping long enough to sort through the anger and get down to the hurt and fear can be healing.

So.  I’m sad. 

I’m sad because of all the ways I hurt others and fail to love them.

I’m sad because when I get self-righteous, it’s only a matter of time before my kind Father reminds me of all the reasons I don’t get to throw stones.

I’m sad because I am daily in contact with a world that is so broken and hurting. 

Also.  I’m afraid.

I’m afraid to let my heart love more people.

I’m afraid to let go of control of stuff that’s not really in my control to begin with.

I’m afraid of failing.

I know when I get like this, it’s time to step back and evaluate.  Mostly because it means I’ve tried to take on the battle in my own strength.  Instead of clinging to Him.

Jesus says, “take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

On my own, I’m the perpetual underdog cheerleader.  This may seem noble, but it can be not noble.  Especially if I’m too closely identifying with the underdog.  Then it’s just personal.

And it usually represents something I haven’t completely taken to Jesus, had a fit over in His presence, let His healing word come to my heart, and release it into His Capable Hands. 

So tonight I’m doing some releasing. 

“I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others to do the same.” 

– C.S. Lewis

This morning in Fall Avoidance, I had a believer in each class that was grateful for the same thing:

One day we will have new bodies. 

One of my ladies has an incredibly crooked back.  By the end of the day she just aches.  She also has the best attitude of anyone I know.  When I challenged her to try to stand up straighter on the exercise we were doing, she did.  She added, “Have I had you feel with your hand how crooked my back is?”  When I assured her I had before, and when I said, “One day your spine will be straight again,” she smiled.  Sometimes that’s the hope we have to hold onto.  No amount of therapy will fix it in this life.  But you know what she said?

“But I’m grateful for the body my mom gave me in this life.  It’s strong and mostly healthy and has allowed me to do many things.”

Such a great attitude.  In the midst of the daily ache, she is grateful.

In the second class, it was the kind man whose pastor had him sit in on VBS as a new believer that related to this desire of a new body.  He has esophagus issues that require scopes once a year.  He also has liver disease, though he never drank alcohol.  His theory is all the chemicals that were absorbed through his skin while working at Cessna before OSHA came into being. 

Once in a while, he gets down for the count for a few days to a few weeks.  He just has to sleep it off and his wife serves him.

“Paul wrote to the Corinthians, ‘If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins…[and] we are to be pitied more than all men” (1 Cor. 15:17, 19).

They physical resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of redemption – both for mankind and for the earth.  Indeed, without Christ’s resurrection and what it means – an eternal future for fully restored human beings dwelling on a fully restored Earth – there is no Christianity…

The nail prints in Christ’s hands and feet are the strongest possible affirmation that the same earthly body that was crucified is now the same heavenly body that was raised.  ‘It is I myself!  Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see I have’ (Luke 24:39).

There will be continuity from this life to the next.  I will be able to say with Job, ‘In my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes – I, and not another’ (Job 19:26-27)…

Despite the radical changes that occur through salvation, death and resurrection, we remain who we are.  We have the same history, appearance, memory, interests and skills.  This is the principle of redemptive continuity.  God will not scrap his original creation and start over.  Instead, he will take his fallen, corrupted children and restore, refresh, and renew us to our original design…

Many of us look forward to Heaven more now than we did when our bodies functioned well.  Joni Eareckson Tada says it well:

‘Somewhere in my broken, paralyzed body is the seed of what I shall become.  The paralysis makes what I am to become all the more grand when you contrast atrophied, useless legs against splendorous resurrected legs.  I’m convinced that if there are mirrors in heaven (and why not?), the image I’ll see will be unmistakably ‘Joni,’ although a much better, brighter Joni.’

Inside your body, even if it is failing, is the blueprint for your resurrection body.  You may not be satisfied with your current body or mind – but you’ll be thrilled with your resurrection upgrades.  With them you’ll be better able to serve and glorify God and enjoy an eternity of wonders he has prepared for you.”

Alcorn, Heaven, pgs. 111, 114, 120, 124

“The Master will say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.  You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much.  Enter into the joy of your master (Matt 25:23).’

Commenting on this passage, Dallas Willard writes, ‘That ‘joy’ is, of course, the creation and care of what is good, in all its dimensions.  A place in God’s creative order has been reserved for each one of us from before the beginnings of cosmic existence.  His plan is for us to develop, as apprentices of Jesus, to the point where we can take our place in the ongoing creativity of the universe.’

God is grooming us for leadership.  He’s watching to see how we demonstrate our faithfulness.  He does that through his apprenticeship program, one that prepares us for Heaven.  Christ is not simply preparing a place for us; he is preparing us for that place…

We’ve been conditioned to associate governing with self-promoting arrogance, corruption, inequality, and inefficiency.  But these are perversions, not inherent properties of leadership.  Ruling involves responsibility – perhaps that’s why some people don’t look forward to it.  Some people live in anticipation of retirement, when responsibilities will be removed.  Why would they want to take on an eternal task of governing?  But what they think they want now and what they’ll really want as resurrected beings – with strong bodies and minds in a society untouched by sin – may be quite different…

Of course, not all positions of responsibility over others involve people.  Adam and Eve governed animals before there were any other people.  Some of us may be granted the privilege of caring for animals.  Perhaps some will care for forests.  Ruling will likely involve the management of all of God’s creation, not just people.

Some of the most qualified people to lead in Heaven will be those who don’t want to lead now.  Some who are natural leaders here but have not been faithful will not be leaders in Heaven.  Remember, it’s not the proud and confident who will inherit the earth and rule it; it’s the meek (Matt 5:5).  And even the meek will be stripped of their wrong motives and the temptation to exploit others…

Many people have told me they’re uncomfortable with the idea that mankind will rule the earth, govern cities, and reign forever.  It sounds presumptuous and self-important.  I would agree – if it was our idea to reign over the universe, it would indeed be presumptuous.  But it was not our idea, it was God’s.  And it is not a minor or peripheral doctrine; it’s at the very heart of Scripture…

[God insists] that He alone will establish a perfect government on Earth.  When have we ever experienced the ‘peace on Earth’ promised at Christ’s birth?  We haven’t yet, but we will:

‘Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!  Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!  See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.  I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken.  He will proclaim peace to the nations.  His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.  (Zech. 9:9-10)

‘In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.  In his law the islands will put their hope.  (Isaiah 42:3b-4)

‘Behold, I will create a new heavens and a new earth.  The former things will not be remembered…the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard no more…For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands…Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.  The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like th eox, but the dust will be the serpant’s food.  They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,’ says the LORD (Isaiah 65:17, 19b, 22b, 24-25).

Jesus said, ‘I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel’ (Luke 22:29-30).

God’s purpose and plan will not fully be achieved until Christ confers upon us the Kingdom he has won.  This will take place after our bodily resurrection, when we will eat and drink at a table with the resurrected Christ on a resurrected Earth.  That this is an actual rule on a physical, earthly kingdom, not a ‘spiritual’ rule in a disembodied state, is demonstrated by the references to our eating and drinking at a table with Christ.”

Alcorn, Heaven pages 220-223

Oh my.

You may not believe this, but one of my main “countries” in the personality flag page is Peace. 

I know, it may not seem like it.  But I actually really, really dislike conflict.  It makes my stomach churn.  I really want everyone to love each other and, more specifically, to love me.

A close friend said something the other day that kind of put it in words, “You have the ability to make people feel like they really know you well.  Even though they may only know the first few layers of you.”

I’ve pondered that lots.  I don’t mean to ever be inauthentic.  And some of that is just different levels of relational intimacy.  But my point is, ask some of my good friends and I think they’d back me up: I’m concerned about peace, about hurting others, about relationships.

There.

Now. 

All that said, I’m going to link to two potentially volatile blog posts.  Not because I want to hurt anyone or stir any pot.  But because I feel so driven to spread the second message.

If you’re on Facebook, you might have seen the post “FYI (if you’re a teenage girl).”  She talks about raising three teenage boys and their rules for online exposure.  If you haven’t read it, it’s worth the read.  Lots of good points.

It is here:  http://givenbreath.com/2013/09/03/fyi-if-youre-a-teenage-girl/

I read it, nodded along with some of her points, and then felt…unsettled.  So I was interested when a friend on Facebook posted similar sentiments and said the following blog nailed what had bothered her about the post.

Here is the blog that responds to the previous post: http://putdowntheurinalcake.com/2013/09/dear-mrs-hall-regarding-your-fyi-if-youre-a-teenage-girl/

If you have time, they’re both worth the read and both have such excellent points.

But if you don’t have time, let me just say the point I’m most driven to put on this silly blog is the final one:

Second blogger writes, “The last issue I had with your letter was on the subject of second chances. “And so, in our house,” you wrote, “there are no second chances, ladies. If you want to stay friendly with the Hall men, you’ll have to keep your clothes on, and your posts decent.  If you try to post a sexy selfie, or an inappropriate YouTube video – even once – you’ll be booted off our on-line island.” 

And I guess, to be completely honest here, the reason this made me so sad is because I’m someone who needed a second chance as a young woman. And a third chance. And a fourth chance. Infinity chances, really. The difference then, of course, was there was no social media to check. Or ways for my insecurity, my disrespect of myself, my questioning, my doubts, my wandering, my desperate search to find myself, to find value, to find meaning… to be part of the permanent record.”

Um…yes.  And I’m still needing infinity chances.  I think we all are. She said the message she wants her daughter to internalize is this:

“We see you, sweetheart. We do. We see what you’re writing. We see what you’re posting. We see more of you than you think we do. We see sometimes down to the very center of your soul. And what you need to know is this: You are beautiful. You are valuable. You are worthy. You are your physical body, and you are so very much more. And you, baby girl, have infinite chances for grace and redemption and relationship and community and wholeness and LOVE. Always. Always and forever. Amen.”

Oh, what does that do to your heart?  I want to bawl like a baby just re-reading that.  And that’s the message our team wants to send to the women we reach out to.  We want to be “seventy times seven” forgivers and lovers.  Not just of them, but of our community, our families, our co-workers, our neighbors, ourselves. 

God has made me put my money where my mouth is on this issue over the last five years.  A dear friend of mine has made bad choice after bad choice because of some unhealed, deep wounds in her soul.  And each time He’s asked me to not give up on her.  To not judge her.  To love her right where she is at without condoning her behavior.  It’s like He wanted to see me be faithful with one of His precious creations before He sent me in to love on forty of His precious creations.  I pray I will be found faithful.

Now.  Please know, as a mama of two boys, I know the message of purity will come up.  And most definitely the issue of online accountability and honor will come up.  And maybe I’m not qualified to talk about all this because we haven’t reached that age yet.  But I do know one thing for sure.  I want our sons, when they are young men, to be able to look a young woman in the eye who is seeking attention in a sexual way and say with utmost tenderness and sincerity,

“You don’t have to do this.  You are loved just for who you are.  I can tell you all about Him and a group of people who seek to live like Him.” 

(And he could also probably say, “And my mom would love to mentor you if you’re available.”  Smile.)

Yes, I know – at least intellectually – what temptations he will be facing when he would have a conversation like that. 

But if all the young men who are being raised to have a higher standard for purity ignore girls like her (girls like me) who will be left to tell her the truth?  As a young man?  Because, see, she can hear it from older women or female peers who may be trying to reach out to her, but come on.  The attention she is seeking is male.  And a male needs to be bold enough to show her love with good boundaries.  She might possibly hear it from him.  Especially if she sees there are no strings attached in his befriending her.

I have a fear.  It may be irrational.  It definitely doesn’t seem on the horizon any time soon.  But here it is:

What if God opens the floodgates and a sea of women who work in the sex industry flow into our churches?  Not after they’ve cleaned up their act, but just as they are?

Are we ready?  Is the fight for purity going to be used in their favor?  To reach out to them?  Or will they feel too different?  Ignored?  Like God-fearing men couldn’t possibly befriend them because they are one of “those women”? 

And what if they flirt?  What if they dress in a way that’s inappropriate?  (My friend was kicked out of a church as a teenager when she was visiting family in another town because she had a shirt on that showed her midriff.  She had to wait in the car until the service was over.)

I really do wonder. 

I personally know plenty of men in churches – my church and others – who I don’t doubt for a second.  I’m not saying they won’t have to guard their minds and hearts.  I’m saying I know they are up for the battle because they know God will use them in the women’s healing journey if they are faithful.  The women will need older men who will show them safe, fatherly love.  They will need men who are their peers to show them safe, brotherly love. 

And I know many men who would do that with honor and integrity.

I know trust is earned.  I know protecting our community is important.  I know we need to set a higher standard.  But may we also be known for love.  For grace.  For patience. 

Jesus, please help us see ourselves clearly.  Help us know how to protect our sons and raise our daughters.  And help us also know how to love a lost world and walk them through finding freedom in You.  We are people of Second Chances.  Oh, praise You that we are!  We’re all goners without that hope.  May that kind of love flow from us daily.

We love You. 

Some of the most interesting concepts in Alcorn’s two books were about what we’ll do in heaven. 

As in, no, we don’t just sit on clouds playing harps.

It is much, much more exciting than that:

“Heaven will offer much-needed rest to the weary (Rev 14:13).  But rest renews us, revitalizes us to become active again.  Heaven will offer refreshing activity, productive and unthwarted – like Adam and Eve’s work in Eden before sin brought the curse on the ground.

In heaven, we’re told, ‘his servants will serve him’ (Rev 22:3).  This means we’ll be active, because to ‘serve’ means to work, to expend effort, to do something.  Service involves responsibilities, duties, effort, planning, and creativity to do work well.

We’ll lead and exercise authority in heaven, making important decisions.  We’ll reign with Christ (2 Timothy 2:12; Rev 3:21), not temporarily but ‘for ever and ever’ (Rev 22:5).  ‘Reigning’ implies specific delegated responsibilities for those under our leadership (Luke 19:17-19).  We’ll rule over the world and even over angels (1 Cor 6:2-3).”

Alcorn, pgs. 114, 115

I think of C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe when, at the end, the children rule as kings and queens of Narnia: King Peter the Magnificent, Queen Susan the Gentle, King Edmund the Just, and Queen Lucy the Valiant.

It’s a beautiful picture, but one we often don’t imagine of our lives in heaven.  Us rule?  When we’re in the presence of the Great Ruler? 

Says Alcorn, “Prior to Christ’s return, his Kingdom will be intermingled with the world’s cultures (Matt 13:24-30).  But his followers will be growing in character and proving their readiness to rule.  Through adversity and opportunity, as well as in their artistic and cultural accomplishments, they will be groomed for their leadership roles in Christ’s eternal Kingdom.  Their society-transforming creative skills will be put on prominent display in the new universe, where they will ‘shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father’ (Matt 13:43).

I can’t tell you how much more this motivates me to work on Christ-like character and servant leadership qualities!  If I’m just working on them to feel good about myself, I’ll get bored faster than fast.  Even if I’m working on them to better serve people I love, I’ve gotta be honest: I’m just selfish enough for that to motivate me only so far in this journey.  But if my character is being grown to rule for all eternity, I want in on that!  I want to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.  You have been faithful with a few things, I’ll put you in charge of many things.  Come and share in your Master’s happiness.”

Does that sound too selfish?  I don’t know.  Seems like God really wants us to be hedonistic in desiring Him and His ways (see also…well, anything written by John Piper).  It would be weird to command us to store up treasures in heaven if there won’t be any treasures in heaven to enjoy.  Or if we’re expected to not enjoy the ones we’ve stored up cause that seems too selfish.  It also seems silly for Paul to say, “If we endure, we will also reign with Him” (2 Tim 2:12) if we’re not supposed to want to reign with Him.

And let’s be honest.  The God Who didn’t spare His own Son for us isn’t interested in making us some kind of dictators.  He’s interested in fulfilling to perfection His original commission to Adam and Eve: “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.  Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Gen. 1:28).

How wonderful is that?  Doing that without sin or decay or bad motives or broken relationships?  In His presence for ever and ever?  On a New Earth with new bodies?

That’s motivation, even for someone as self-focused as I can be.

Do whatever You have to, Jesus, to transform us and prepare us for our eternal destiny.  Use us to change the eternal destiny of others.  We want to hear, “Well done.”  We want to store up treasures in heaven.  We want to love our neighbor as ourselves. 

We want to follow You because what else can we do when you have changed our lives?

You are worth it all.

“Every top athlete and athletic team has a coach.  In the world of athletics, nobody performs his way out of needing a coach.  In the world of leadership, however, we operate under the misguided assumption that because we are leaders, we don’t need to be led.  Once we are recognized for our ability to ‘perform,’ we think we don’t need outside input in order to enhance our performance.  Consequently, we measure our leadership against what others are doing rather than against our God-given potential.  And in the end we never become all we could have been…

Self-evaluation is helpful, but evaluation from someone else is essential.  You need a leadership coach.

We tend to measure ourselves against the people around us.  They become our point of reference.  A good coach will evaluate your performance against your potential…

Unlike a typical mentoring arrangement, a leadership coach doesn’t simply advise when asked.  A coach is going to be more proactive in his instruction and evaluation.  A coach is often on the scene watching rather than in an office waiting for a report.

In the world of athletics, the coach does not withhold his opinion until asked.  Neither does he sit back and watch his protégé make the same mistake over and over without saying something.  In the same way, a good leadership coach will do everything in his power to ensure progress…

Every follower is a volunteer.  Abuse your position as leader and you will lose those you lead.  Nobody has to follow.  You can’t force people, even subjects, to follow.  You might be able to force them into submission, but you can’t force them to become loyal followers…

When I make up my mind about something, I don’t really want anyone telling me it is not a good idea.  Every leader I know leans in that direction.  So God, in His wisdom, has placed men and women around us with the experience and discernment we often lack.

If we are wise enough to listen, they will help us go farther, faster.”

Andy Stanley, The Next Generation Leader

Short quote tonight.

Been thinking about heaven and relationships and love.

We had Caleb’s birthday party today.  He turns 3 on Wednesday, but we had family and friends over for a cookout today to celebrate.

Celebration.

“Will we know our loved ones in heaven?  Certainly.  We’ll know even those we didn’t know on earth, just as Peter, James and John recognized Moses and Elijah when they joined Jesus (Luke 9:28-33), though they could not have known what they looked like.  After entering heaven, the martyrs look down on earth and clearly remember their lives, fully aware of what’s happening there (Rev 6:9-11).  Heaven isn’t characterized by ignorance of events on earth but by perspective on them…

Heaven will be the home of relentless joy.  The greatest joy will be marrying our bridegroom, Jesus Christ.  If we love Christ, we long to be with him.  The next greatest joy will be reuniting with our departed loved ones.  I don’t like to be away from my family, but what keeps me going is the anticipation of reunion.  The longer the separation, the sweeter the reunion.  I haven’t seen my mom for twenty years, my childhood friend Jerry for nine years, my dad for five.  Some will be reunited with parents they’ve not seen for fifty years and with children lost long ago.  For Christians, death is never the end of a relationship but only an interruption to be followed by glorious reunion.”

– Alcorn, Money, Possessions and Eternity (pgs 114 and 115)

He quickly goes into our rewards in heaven as stewards of His resources on earth, going even deeper with the stewardship theme. 

But more on that another day.  Today I’m grateful for the community I have on earth and the one I will enjoy and get to know and play and work and learn and explore with for all eternity.

Uncanny timing:

“Spiritual leaders make two choices every time they make one decision.  First, they choose whether to rely on their own insights or on God’s wisdom in making their decision.  Their second choice is the conclusion they reach, or the action they take.  People don’t naturally do things God’s way, because people don’t think the way God does (Ps 118:8).

God doesn’t want people to do what they think is best: he wants them to do what he knows is best, and no amount of reasoning and intellectualizing will discover that.  God himself must reveal it…

Proverbs is peppered with safeguards against unwise decision making.  One of these safeguards is enlisting the aid of wise counsel.  The confirmation of other believers is the third way the Holy Spirit will guide leaders’ decision making…

Leaders should seek the best possible people to work with them and to advise them…They ought to be able to look at situations from a perspective different from the leader’s.  If, for example, a CEO is a rational, cognitive thinker who accepts guidance only from other rational, cognitive thinkers, they will consistently recommend the most logical direction for the company.  If, on the other hand, the leader also conscripts counselors who are emotional thinkers, the counselors will be more sensitive to interpersonal issues and will direct the leader away from actions that could appear callous and might needlessly antagonize people…

God is purposeful and progressive in the way he leads people and organizations.  He does not change his mind every time a new leaders arrives.  God does not rescind everything he has said once a new leader is installed.  Leaders come and go over the years but God’s plans, purposes, and presence remain constant.  Wise leaders understand their place in God’s overall plan and are content to lead on God’s agenda, setting aside any selfish or ungodly motives that may tempt them to ‘show what they can do.’

Harry Truman has been called a great leader because he had the ability to decide.  But more than that, he was willing to accept the consequences of his decisions.  Truman’s famous dictum, ‘The buck stops here,’ encapsulated his belief that leaders cannot shirk their responsibility to make decisions or bear the consequences of their decisions.

It is at this point that true leaders separate themselves from mere office-seekers.  When there are negative consequences to a leaders’ decisions, they refuse to blame their followers.  They do not cause others in their organization to suffer the consequences for their decisions.  True leaders accept the ramifications of their decisions.

Because leaders make so many decisions, they are particularly vulnerable to making mistakes.  Moreover, the results of their actions are often magnified because of the public nature of their jobs.  Most mistakes are not terminal in nature, however, and they can actually provide the greatest moments of personal growth that leaders experience.  Successful leaders are not successful because they never err in judgment, but because they continually learn from their mistakes. 

Mistakes are inevitable; true leaders understand this fact and are not devastated by it.  The only leaders who never make mistakes are those who never try anything, which is in itself a mistake.  Mistakes are often opportunities in disguise.  They are opportunities for followers to see that, though their leader is not perfect, he or she is honest.  Honesty, not infallibility, has repeatedly been listed as the most important quality followers desire in their leaders.”

Henry Blackaby, “Spiritual Leadership”

Have some decisions to make.  Have had some wise counsel.  Have been reminded that mistakes are okay.  God is good.