One may wish to have a bent towards the idea that leaders are made on rare occasions however, one could stumble at those who seem to be born leaders. Notwithstanding, whether born or made, there will always be the need for preparation to bring out the leader in them.
A great lesson to learn from the lion comes in here. The lion is the second-largest feline species, after the tiger. The male lion can be recognized by his mane and can weigh up to 500 pounds. They need hot climates and hunt in groups. In the wild, lions live up to 14 years.
But, in captivity, they can live up to 20 years. A male lion needs about 15 pounds of meat a day for its diet. In times of desperation and hunger, they have been known to even attack elephants. Lions are natural and instinctive predators.
They are instinctive hunters and begin hunting at 3 months old. Yet, a lion is not born skilled. Only through failed experience after failed experience does it become skilled. This is interesting…they do not become skilled at hunting until they are two years old or so.
Read More: Enduring the Process: Finding Joy in the Journey with Jesus Over You
Think about this. They are instinctive and natural hunters…but have to practice it over and over and over to develop the skill for it! The Best Of The Best…Have To Work At What Is Even Natural…To Get Good At It.
Thus, like Joseph, every leader has to go through stages of preparation. The rivalry and hatred that ensued from his brothers appear to come from two likely reasons namely; first, the struggle and bouts Leah and Rachel had over who won the love of Jacob their beloved husband.
There was no doubt, however, that Jacob’s first love was Rachel, while his marriage to Leah was circumstantial. So the feud went on between the duo which no doubt was carried over to their children.
Secondly, Jacob on the other hand did not help matters as he showered so much love on Joseph taking him as the favorite child of the house. Meanwhile, Joseph was the youngest of eleven children. This surely did not go down well with his brothers.
His dreams which were more or less a revelation of his destiny angered his brothers the more and triggered greater hatred for him. He could see the venom, bitterness, resentment, hate, and unforgiveness in his brothers.
They now plotted his elimination to end it all. This was the environment in which he grew. All put together, he had reasons to become bitter, cynical, and withdrawn.
Read More: Why you must start from the Grass Roots if you want to be a Winner.
There are certain cardinal truths which if understood can reorder the course of one’s life. These truths have much to do with our self-esteem and the complexes that many suffer from.
What People Say, See And Think You Are:
Jesus once asked his disciples a probing question, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” Matthew 16:13. This is more than trying to get to know what people say about Him.
There is also a need to understand that there is what people think about you, there is what they also say based on what they see about you. All this could be miss-leading, as people have their conception of who they think is good for one to be.
A friend just shared a thought with me on this and I quote, “Jacob looked at Joseph and saw a good son! The ten brothers looked at Joseph and saw a useless dreamer! The traders looked at Joseph and saw a slave that would make a good market. Potiphar looked at Joseph and saw a fine, hardworking, and faithful servant!! Potiphar’s wife looked at Joseph and saw a potential bedmate. The prison officer saw in Joseph a prisoner who would help relieve him of his duties! The baker saw in Joseph a professor of dream interpretation!!!”
How wrong were all of them! One should never be discouraged by what people say about you or by what they claim to see in you: and do not allow your life to be controlled by they think of you. Every man is entitled to his opinion but please keep them to yourself.
What God Sees, Says, and Thinks Of You:
The safest place to take your bearing from in life is God. God saw in Joseph a great leader, a preserver, a powerful deliverer of men in crisis, a man full of wisdom, pragmatic and insightful, a visionary person equipped to bless his generation.
God saw in him a prime minister who doubled as the minister of agriculture and economic planning. These were all buried in the dreams. Joseph had over thirteen years earlier that made his brothers nickname him “The Dreamer”. Events began to unfold gradually.
Hold on to the dreams God has given to you. They may look impossible but do not throw them away. When no one sees a future in you God does, follow Him! What people see and say does not matter so much as what God says.
It is God’s declaration that is infallible. One very great thing that should cause a believer’s heart to leap for joy is to know that God has him in mind always. Not only does He have the believer in His thoughts but He has them expressed in His word concerning him.
This was revealed to Jeremiah the prophet when Israel as a nation was in despair. There was a cloud of darkness, hopelessness, and a seemingly bleak future hanging over them as God declared seventy-year captivity in Babylon for the people.
Read More: Cardinal Truths that can Reorder the Course of Your Life.
But in the midst of it, He interjected to let them know also that, His allowing such captivity was not a sign of rejecting and abandoning them but it was for their good. Jeremiah 29:10-11.
This is but a peep into God’s mind concerning His children always. When you see such a declaration by God, key into it, He will never fail to execute His good word concerning you. The fact that you go through difficult trials, tests, and seeming abandonment does not mean God’s thought towards you has changed.
Jeremiah 1:12. Here, God says He will be on the alert, as one who keeps night watch and be wakeful over His word to perform it. He will not give Himself rest but will be sleepless and ensure His word concerning you is brought to fulfillment.
What You See, Say, and Believe About Yourself:
Joseph saw what God saw and then aligned himself with Him. A man’s ability to align himself with God makes his assignment in life possible. When you stand in agreement with God to fulfill your destiny, you become unstoppable, invincible, indomitable, indestructible, and immovable.
This is the vantage position where the real you will ever come out. The Jewish leaders sent to ask John the Baptist who he was. Their opinions varied about him, but John knew too well who he was. He took his identity from the word of God and stood on it.
What made him such a fiery prophet was he knew exactly where he was coming from and where he was heading to in life. Worse still, if you do not know who you are, people will define who you are for you.
Understanding that you are a voice and not an echo will make you stand out wherever you are. If you are not the voice you will be echoing someone else thereby losing your identity.
Make God your ally in the journey of life. He who knows tomorrow also holds the future, and one’s destiny is secure in His hands. Trust God and He will never let you down.
What Can You Go Through?
Somebody remarked, “If you can’t take the heat stay away from the kitchen” This is a great piece of advice. What a person is willing to go through determines to a large extent what he can handle.
The process can discomfort you, and sometimes remove you the security, pleasure, leisure, and safety you seem to have, but be willing to go through. Daniel and his three friends are good examples of those who went through the heat and came out.
Read More: Unlocking the Wisdom of Confinement: Why You Should Not Allow Confinement End Your Success in Life.
Beginning from the time of their study at the University of Babylon, they were under pressure to renounce their faith and adopt the lifestyle of the Babylonians contrary to what they believed.
What we see happening today with our young people being brainwashed when they step into university, thereby making them cast off all moral restraint, revolting against the society is an age-long thing.
When these young men came under pressure to denounce what they believed and lived for, they refused. God vindicated them and made them ten times better than their colleagues.
In the end, only these four stood out from the crowd among all the Jews that were taken to captivity in Babylon.
The rest who choose not to go through the heat and pressure faded into oblivion.
Everyone Therefore Must Be Tried.
Tried here means to smelt, refine, and to test (and prove true). This word is commonly applied to metals in testing their genuineness and purity. The purpose of the test is here revealed, to prove true and refine.
Any faith that is not worth testing is not worth having. Thus when you are going through testing, it is part of the preparation process that should not be taken for a ride. Though no form of testing is sweet but in the end, it works out God’s purpose