By John Brito
People are depending on you to lead through this crisis. Whether it’s your family, your employees or your ministry, people are looking to you for leadership. Here are some steps that will help you lead well:
First, anchor your faith to an immutable God. We have experienced disruptive change in our life these past few weeks. But there is one constant in our life—God. He never changes. Place your trust in him. Malachi 3:6: “For I the Lord do not change.”
Second, keep it together. Don’t let your emotions, especially fear, take a hold of you. Those you lead need to see strength and confidence from you. The best way to remove fear and gain confidence is to focus on God and how he will always protect you—no matter what is happening around you. Psalm 27:1: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
Third, make short term decisions. Things are changing too fast for you to make long term plans. Your decisions may have a shelf life of a few days to a couple of weeks. So, make the best decisions for the short term. Ask God to guide you in this process. Proverbs 3:5: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”
Fourth, look for new opportunities. Spiritual: People are more open than ever to hearing about Jesus. Look for opportunities to pray with and for others. Share the hope of Christ with them. Business: Things may not go back to how they once were. There will be new business opportunities emerge from this. Keep your eyes open; and as people default on their mortgages, the housing market may drop. This may be your opportunity to stop renting and finally buy a home. There will be a new demand for new services, and new business models will emerge. Keep your eyes open and ask God to guide you. The same goes for ministry.
The people of Judah experienced tremendous change and loss when they were taken into captivity in Babylon. But God said to them, “Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”
The Jews prospered so much in captivity that when they were allowed to return to Judah to rebuild, most stayed in the foreign land that had become their home.
Things may seem tough now, but opportunities are coming. Let God guide you and lead well.
You can follow John Brito on Twitter and Instagram @john_brito7
