Week 44 Day 2
Pray:
Ask God to reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.
Read:
1 Thess. 5:12-13 Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.
Heb. 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.
Reflect:
Leadership is the immune system of a family, church, or any organized human culture. When leadership is compromised, the system is or will soon become ill. There are many ways leaders can compromise their own leadership. Legal and moral violations top the list of the things that lead to leadership “suicide.” But it’s also possible for followers to compromise leadership. A well-differentiated and disciplined leader is impossible to stop, but that leader’s impact on your own life certainly can be stopped. If you are a complainer, a demander, or if you believe it is a leader’s job to “fix” your life, then you will perpetually act against healthy leadership and healthy leaders in your life. To act against the leaders God has placed in your life is to work against your own best interests. Why would anyone do this? For some, it is because they are “wise in their own eyes.” Leaders who fail to meet a follower’s own standard (that they themselves do not meet) are seen as being unworthy of their loyalty. They are looking for perfection in a leader and will work against any leader who falls short of this impossible standard. This also leads to perpetual disillusionment as people live in search of a leader “worthy” of their loyalty, but when this leader, like all others, proves to be less than perfect the follower then turns elsewhere feeling angry and betrayed. It is likely all the leader did to bring this kind of displeasure is try to lead, but their crime was really a lack of perfection. By all means, look for a settled and Christ-like direction in a leader, but by all means do not look for a life of perfection in a leader. Follow in a way that empowers the leaders God has placed in your life; this will be an advantage to them and to you.
Pray:
(Personalize this prayer today; make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)
Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you go through your day. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell Him “Yes” to His will and ask Him for His power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today.