Are problems paralyzing your leadership? (69-2)

Problems are part of every leader’s life. Effective leaders do not let problems paralyze them; they know that solutions usually exist. Read Genesis 37:5-36; 39:1-41:16.

Joseph dealt with everything from being tossed in a pit by his brothers and left to die, to being sold into slavery and transported to a foreign country, to false imprisonment and yet these problems did not stop him. Joseph could have taken any of these “problems” and lost faith in his situation and in God. It would be very difficult to imagine how long the last two years in prison seemed to Joseph after the release of Pharaoh’s cupbearer who had promised to speak to Pharaoh on Joseph’s behalf because Joseph had correctly interpreted his dream. If Joseph had put his faith in people instead of God, this incident could have crushed his spirit.

Effective leaders look pass the moment with hope for the future even when they can’t imagine what that future might be. If you are a born again believer, you have something wired into your new DNA if you will dig down and find it:

• God gives vision. Joseph knew and believed God had something special in mind for him. (37:5-6, 9-11)
• God gives relationship. Scripture says the Lord was with Joseph. (39:2, 21, 23)
• God develops character through difficulties. With each new trial Joseph seemed to grow stronger.
• God develops us through practical experiences. Joseph learned from the time he served in Potiphar’s house, and those experiences helped him manage the prison, and all those combined experiences later helped him run Egypt as second in command.
• God gives each leader a special giftedness. Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams enabled him to gain the attention of those in authority.
• God has a unique plan for every believer. God will establish His plan if we are faithful to walk through open doors and learn from closed doors. Four times the Bible expresses God’s blessing of Joseph with some variation of “Whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper” (39:2, 3, 21, 23).

Effective leaders deal with the short term problems but keep their eyes set on the future.

Have you analyzed the problems in your leadership world? How do they fit into what you believe to be God’s plan for your life? Are you allowing short term situations to create attitudes that are unhealthy to achieving your long term goals? Write a single paragraph with your long term goals and objectives and whenever you are becoming overwhelmed by issues, look at your situation through the filter of your long term goals.