I recently watched a two minute clip of a footballer Carlos Puyol, former captain of FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team. The video showcased how he motivated his teammates and the great sportsmanship that he always showed. Class personified. Watching the video reminded me not only how inspirational Puyol was to me as a leader myself but also the leaders in the Bible that I look up to.
God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called.
When I think of leaders in the Bible, I think of David, Moses and countless others who have been immortalised in the Word for doing God’s work.
As someone who often finds themselves in leadership, be it in church or football, I am all too familiar with the scrutiny that comes with being the guy in charge and the pressure to be perfect that comes with it. Add to this looking at the likes of Moses and David as the benchmark, it becomes apparent how unqualified I sometimes feel. However, it’s at this point that I remember that God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called.
It’s my view that the doubts expressed are not necessarily fear but a reminder to stay humble, as our gifts are not given by merit but are freely given by God’s grace. There have been Small Group gatherings where I haven’t been sure how I’m going to lead the session but somehow I have levitated (not literally) through the evening and the Holy Spirit has moved in an amazing way.
I’ve been asked how I find it relatively easy to organise football matches and teams etc. My response is usually just a shrug because I know it’s not really through my own intelligence but the grace God has given me to see the bigger picture when planning things.
Despite knowing that our gifts are blessings from God, it is still easy to feel inadequate when compared to the legends in the Bible. However, if we dig a little deeper, we can see that despite the outstanding leadership they showed, they were still only human. We’ll examine examples of fallacy from David and then from Moses.
We all know David as a war hero and a man after God’s heart. However, he also fell into sin when he committed adultery and also murder. His prayer of repentance in Psalm 51 is a good example of how we should humbly come back to God for forgiveness when we mess up. Following David’s repentance, God covered his transgression and David’s legacy is his heart for God and not the sin he committed. If we can allow God to work in our lives and come back humbly to him WHEN (not if) we mess up, then our sin will not define us but the ‘great exploits’ that God has called us into will be our lasting legacy.
My second example of Moses does not look at any sin that he committed, rather it highlights the fact that even though Moses was a very powerful prophet, he also needed help from others. The story I’m referring to is in Exodus where the Israelites are fighting a battle against the Amalekites. When Moses lifts his staff above his head the Israelites are winning the battle but when his arms get heavy and start to drop, they start to lose the battle.
God is our ultimate source in all things.
The story itself is quite remarkable and I sometimes wonder that if God was able to direct the outcome of the battle in such a way, why couldn’t He just give Moses superhuman strength to keep his hands up?
As you find out when you read the story, Moses’ friends stepped in to help hold his arms up and ensure that the Israelites won the battle. I think the message here is that even great leaders can’t always do it alone. From time to time they need good people around them to hold them up when they get weary.
In light of the above stories, I feel that we should continue to look at the heroes in the Bible for inspiration but remember that they were only human just like us. God is our ultimate source in all things.
Written by Ron
Hi I’m Ron
I love God, my family and football. Seasoned veteran of two years of marriage, who works in financial advice and attends Jubilee Church London.
Thankful for God’s countless blessings in my life.
