To
begin, I want to say thank you. Thank
you for choosing to be a leader on this campus.
Thank you for pouring tons of energy and loads of hours into
relationships and conversations that will further expand the Kingdom of God. Thank you for working hard.
Being
a leader is hard work. Sacrifices
are often made daily for someone in a leadership position. I want to say right now that your hard work
is not being overlooked. God sees
you. We must continue to push forward
until the day comes when we are standing in front of the Lord with nothing else
to give. I don’t know about you, but one
of my deepest desires is to hear the Father say to me on that day: “Well done,
my good and faithful servant.”
A few
weeks ago, I had the privilege of attending the Passion Young Adult Conference
in Atlanta, Georgia. At this amazing and
Christ-centered event, I was inspired by the words of speaker and author
Christine Caine. My hope and prayer is
that these words will encourage and challenge your heart, as they did mine that
day.
Reading
from 1 Kings Chapter 19, Christine talked about what a true leader looks
like. In this chapter of Scripture,
Elijah hears a message from the Lord instructing him to go to Elisha so that he
can anoint him to take over his leadership position as prophet. Verse 19 then reads:
19 So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of
Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving
the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him.
Elisha
was a true leader. He was a true leader
who was working extremely hard. Not only
was he working hard and plowing the fields when Elijah found him, but he was working
hard at the very back of the yoke of
oxen. This job would have been smelly
and rather physically taxing. And let’s be real, his view would not have been
the best from behind this team of animals!
Nevertheless,
Elisha was working hard. He wasn’t
waiting until God called Him to do something bigger and better. No, he was working hard as he waited.
In
the words of Christine Caine,
“God tends to work through
people who are already working. So start
to plow where you are NOW.”
Right
now, you are in the middle of the school year and you might be thinking: Why in
the world am I serving here, in this leadership position?
If
that’s you, I want to encourage you to continue plowing that field. God has strategically placed you where He has
you for such a time as this. He doesn’t
make mistakes. So keep pushing on.
Plowing
can be dirty, tiring and not very fun.
As a servant leader, there will be many times that you will want to
throw in the towel and let someone else do the hard work. But it is essential that you stay the course. God has you where you are for a reason! When the job gets hard, painful, lonely, stressful
or boring, choose to stay so that the purpose God has called you to may be
fulfilled.
“Anyone can steer the ship,
but a LEADER must chart the course.”
-Christine Caine
 |
| Martin Staff, 2012-2013 |
So,
dear friends, never forget that God has placed a specific calling on your
life. Don’t worry about what is next,
for ultimately it is God’s job to present you with the “promotion” that is
just right for you at just the right time.
Until then, keep working hard where He has placed you. After all, it is the plowing that prepares us
for what God has in store for our future.
In
HIS Name,
Tina
Lipps
Martin Hall RA, 2012-2013
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