Strength in Struggle

Today's Just a Thought comes from 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." A leader will show his best talents when his team is most willing to learn, vulnerable and struggling.

When things are going well for a person the strategy then becomes that of guiding and encouragement and reinforcing. Yet when a person is struggling, hurting, uncertain or hungry to learn, the key components that show up for a leader is compassion, empathy, courage, patience, comfort. We actually have to get closer to a person, maybe just sit with them, hug them, cry with them,listen to them, meet with them face to face, die to ourselves to think more about them, love them.It's much easier to lead someone at a distance, who is at the top of their game when things are going well. But in weakness, people want you to be close to them, with them.I think we see a leaders skills and talent come out when things are good, but we see his heart when we are struggling.We get the heart and soul of Christ when we are weak; we are most intimate with him in those moments and see the depth of his character. A great leader will be discovered in another's weakness.

When you see a person in tears of joy when they receive the trophy for their biggest victory is because it's the culmination of all the struggles, times of weakness that they persevered through and it's the memory of their leader that was their threw it all.The perfect BEST of two pulling together.Just a thought.