How do you reach your full potential? - Part One: Perspective

What does it take to be a leader in today's context? How can you grow and reach your God given potential? And not only that, but how can you reach your FULL potential?

Here is what I have come up with so far:

1. Praying and Listening to God's voice -

Nothing trumps God.

In the OT, God told Joshua, one of the greatest military leaders of all Ancient Near East, that success is meditating on the Law; known as God's Word (Joshua 1:5-8). An example of this would be how God led Joshua to walk around the walls of Jericho for 7 days; totalling 13 times around a wall, whining and complaining officials, and confronting one of the biggest fortified cities in all the land. Joshua didnt base his leadership on his successes of the past or even his training as a military leader but on the very Word of God. In the NT, we see one of the greatest spiritueal leaders of all time, Saul of Tarsus, who was a educated and influencial man with the relentless passion to destroy the Christian movement had a theophany with Christ on the road of Damascus (Acts 9). Saul, who turned Paul, wrote almost 3/4 of the NT and shared the Good News of Christ to the Gentiles in the known Roman world because of his encounter with Christ.

As you lead:

- Do you lead based on your past experiences, successes or training/education MORE than searching out God's will? I think it is easier, or even lazy, to default to our past, our success, our training, our talent, or even other people's ideas rather than getting on our knees, listening, and searching out His will. Joshus stayed in the tent MORE than Moses (Ex 33:11), and Paul took 3 years to re-identify himself with Christ (Gal 1:17).

- Do you lead based on DOING His Will? Or are you paralyzed by explaining why His Will cannot happen? Fear of failure? Fear of people? Lack of Faith? Sin entangling?

TRUE leadership comes from a confident and humble realization that identity is found in Christ; not education, experience, or success. Dont get me wrong, I believe that education, experience, and giftings enhance leadership, but the very core of leadership comes out of a deep dependency on Christ. Without that, we arent truly leaders.