In my life I have found that fear of failure is a huge factor in the way people often times lead and follow. There is this idea that all failure is bad. When in reality, unless we are willing to overcome the fears and be okay with failure, we will never know the opportunities set before us.
Past success, playing it safe (doing it the same way over and over), and the fear of trying something new are often times the main issues facing company's that don't prepare for the future. One that didn't prepare for the future was Kodak. Once the leader in photography world wide, they filed for bankruptcy in 2012 because they focused more on protecting its film business instead of looking towards the opportunities brought by digital photography.
Every one of us face fear. No one is exempt from it. Whether it is fear of negative economic losses, fear of negative public response and perception, or fear of losing your position, power, or prestige. Fear is real and present with everyone. Even me!
Jesus knew the grip that fear would have on each of us and He addressed it with great courage. He took fear head on! He told us not to fear losing material possessions. He told us not to fear others when they mock us for doing the right things. He told us not to fear doing or asking for what others say is impossible. He told us in 1st John 4:18, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love." Stop for a moment and ask yourself, do I lead others out of fear?
Maybe you don't hire someone that knows more that you do out of fear of losing your job. Maybe you're afraid to dismiss someone who is hurting your business because they are a friend. Maybe you are afraid to face the real issues plaguing your company because some of them maybe directly linked to your leadership. Or maybe you are afraid to do the right thing because it would impact your bottom line, so you look the other way and ignore it rather than address it because it makes your numbers look better.
Whatever "IT" is, know that fear will ALWAYS prevent you from becoming the person and the leader that God intends you to be.
Jesus, though confronted with fear beyond any that we can imagine, went to the cross, knowing that any suffering He would endure paled in comparison with the glory that awaited Him in heaven.
So why would we allow fear to rule us when we have been given power over it?
“And Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’” So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah. And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction. The word of the Lord came to Samuel: “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night. And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.” Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.” And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?” And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.” Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.”
1 Samuel 15:1-24 ESV
Past success, playing it safe (doing it the same way over and over), and the fear of trying something new are often times the main issues facing company's that don't prepare for the future. One that didn't prepare for the future was Kodak. Once the leader in photography world wide, they filed for bankruptcy in 2012 because they focused more on protecting its film business instead of looking towards the opportunities brought by digital photography.
Every one of us face fear. No one is exempt from it. Whether it is fear of negative economic losses, fear of negative public response and perception, or fear of losing your position, power, or prestige. Fear is real and present with everyone. Even me!
Jesus knew the grip that fear would have on each of us and He addressed it with great courage. He took fear head on! He told us not to fear losing material possessions. He told us not to fear others when they mock us for doing the right things. He told us not to fear doing or asking for what others say is impossible. He told us in 1st John 4:18, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love." Stop for a moment and ask yourself, do I lead others out of fear?
Maybe you don't hire someone that knows more that you do out of fear of losing your job. Maybe you're afraid to dismiss someone who is hurting your business because they are a friend. Maybe you are afraid to face the real issues plaguing your company because some of them maybe directly linked to your leadership. Or maybe you are afraid to do the right thing because it would impact your bottom line, so you look the other way and ignore it rather than address it because it makes your numbers look better.
Whatever "IT" is, know that fear will ALWAYS prevent you from becoming the person and the leader that God intends you to be.
Jesus, though confronted with fear beyond any that we can imagine, went to the cross, knowing that any suffering He would endure paled in comparison with the glory that awaited Him in heaven.
So why would we allow fear to rule us when we have been given power over it?
“And Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’” So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah. And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction. The word of the Lord came to Samuel: “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night. And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.” Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.” And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?” And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.” Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.”
1 Samuel 15:1-24 ESV
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