Do you have what it takes?
I said, 'Here am I; send me ISAIAH 6:8
To lead and succeed in any area of life you must have: 1) Commitment. Real leaders don't quit; they couldn't even if they wanted to. One guy said to his pastor, 'It must be hard leading an exemplary life, handling all those pressures, people waiting for one sign of weakness so they can jump on you. How do you handle it?' Smiling, he quipped, 'I stay home a lot!' Only in God's strength will you be able to handle the demands of people, pressures and problems that come your way. 2) Creativity. Homer wrote, 'Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.' Problems unlock your creativity. The story's told of a chicken farmer whose land kept flooding and killing his chickens. In despair he told his wife, 'I've had it; I can't afford to buy another place and I can't sell this one. What can I do?' Calmly she replied, 'Buy ducks!' A wise leader prays, looks for a solution in every problem, thenand then acts on it. 3) Compassion. Bob Pearce said, 'Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.' Matthew records, 'When He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion' (Matthew 9:36 NKJV). Pastor, what moves you? Building projects? Budgets? Big crowds? Be careful; it's possible to love crowds but not love people. People are demanding, they're difficult, they're draining. But as Madeline L'Engle said, 'If you're going to care about the fall of the sparrow, you can't pick and choose who's going to be the sparrow.' So before you say, 'Lord, send me,' ask yourself, 'Do I have what it takes?'
from - UCB WORD FOR TODAY - 28/Aug/09
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