Written by Chuck Swindoll, these encouraging devotional thoughts are published seven days per week.
You do know how strong-willed and proud you are. So do the people you lead. You know how slow you are to encourage and how reluctant you are to affirm. They do too. You know if you're greedy. You know if you're self-serving. Frankly, it's time to give all that up. We're back to the crucial question: Do you want to have a great ministry, or do you just want to be great?
In those desert experiences you long for an oasis where you're able to get a cool drink of water. Though it didn't come from your father, at last it comes from the affirming words of a leader, who, in speaking, dips his ladle deep in ice water, and as he pours it out, it cools your spirit and refreshes your soul.
To keep this simple and easy to remember, I want to suggest that affection for people can be demonstrated in two ways: small yet frequent acts of kindness and stated and written words of appreciation.
Good leaders are sensitive to the needs of others. Paul compared his ministry to a mother who tenderly cares for the needs of her children. I love that word picture.
Paul's style of leadership was neither aloof nor secretive. He lived among them. They knew his address. He talked to them. He didn't preach a sermon and then conveniently slip out the back door during the benediction. He remained approachable, accessible, and real. His life was an open book. Most would agree, that kind of leader is refreshing.
As we saw in Paul, the power to transform stubborn attitudes of fear and bitterness, anger and defeat, comes from Christ. The Lord our God stands ready to pour His strength in you. He alone has the power to deliver you from those relentless foes and send you soaring.
There's no easy route to spiritual maturity. It doesn't happen overnight. Remember, it's a gruelling journey at times. So, don't bother to publish a pamphlet on all the obstacles you face. Don't become famous for complaining.
Paul's attitude of unselfish humility prevented him from keeping meticulous records of the wrongs done to him in Rome, or anywhere else for that matter. He was there by divine appointment. He willingly submitted to his situation.
The secret to Paul's contentment did not emerge from a manual on how to live the Christian life or from a workshop on positive thinking. He didn't have access to a stack of self-help scrolls promising to shore up his sagging self-confidence. Paul's secret was not found in a program, but in a Person.
Few people in the first century had a deeper understanding of God's grace than the Apostle Paul. Redeemed from a life of vicious brutality as a rigid legalistic Pharisee, the man turned the corner, repented, and through Christ's empowering became a gentle soul, gracious and affirming. Understanding. Forgiving. Approachable. He reached the place where he was willing not only to offer hope to the Gentiles, but to live among them, though he himself would bleed pure Jewish blood.
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