I was in the middle of recording and sending a voice note when my voice broke, the word I had said on the voice note struck a chord inside me. I needed to hear that for myself as well, in that moment, I needed to recoil and perhaps pour out my heart to my father in heaven. But I had to finish recording that voice note, the person on the other end needed to get a response from me, perhaps hear what I had to share as well. Therefore, I summoned all the strength I could to finish up the voice note and hit send. By the time I was done with the voice note, my face was dripping with tears from my eyes while I sobbed softly and spoke out audibly to my father.
As all of these happened, my mind shot back to Apostle Paul who did valiantly for the Lord although he was persecuted, chained, and locked up in prisons for the good part of his ministry. I imagined him writing some of these letters we read today from a place of physical pain or some form of other pain. I imagined him writing them with tears in his eyes perhaps sobbing just like myself. Apostle Paul went through so much for the sake of the gospel, nonetheless he was unrelenting. In that moment, I also thought about men and women of God who go through so much here on earth yet they still mount pulpits to minister to and bless souls. As I write to you, I remember Pastor Victoria Orenze’s testimony on one of her ministrations. She had been sick for months, bedridden, and even flown abroad for treatment. She was not fully recovered when the Lord told her to go minister. In obedience, she left the hospital bed and went for the ministration. I can only imagine the physical pain she must have felt as she journeyed to the venue as she mounted the pulpit. But praise be to God, Jehovah who healed her of her sickness as she ministered. She emphasized how the pains started to disappear as she ministered, her emphasis in that testimony was our obedience to the Lord; whether it is convenient or not. But for the sake of this post, I bring that example up because I can imagine the pain she must have felt before she got to the point where she was healed. The examples of many leaders who go through pain or go through challenges go on and I think it is sad to see how oblivious people can be about this. I am currently reading this book by Karen Stiller – the Minister’s wife and she points out how people look at pastors and priests and God’s servants like superheroes who do not feel the same things that other human beings do. But the reality is every man and woman of God is a human being too. The Bible puts it perfectly about Elijah, It says Elijah was a man with a nature like ours (with the same physical, mental, and spiritual limitations and shortcomings) and he prayed intensely for it not to rain – James 5:17. Elijah who was a valient man of God was a man with a nature like you and I, so are these men of God.
My emphasis on this week’s blog post is on the fact that these men and women of God go through life’s challenges just like we all do. But many human beings are so self-absorbed and self-centered that they do not stop to think or acknowledge that these leaders are also human beings, these leaders go through life just like us. Think about the prophet Elijah as powerful as he was, he also had his low moments – I Kings 19:4-14, Moses had his moments when he got tired and needed support, Jesus Christ had His low moments in the Garden of Gethsemane when He was in dire need of His friends/disciples but no one was there – Matthew 26:36-46.
Be Sensitive and Pay Attention to Your Leaders: After I sent the voice note, I silently hoped that the receiver would notice the switch in my voice or the difference overall. But there was no mention of it at all. This is the case with many of us with our leaders, we hardly pay attention to notice when there is a slight difference in their demeanor or countenance. You have no idea how a simple, “Are You OK?” or “I hope you are doing great sir/ma” could go a long way for them in that moment. Even if they do not admit to anything, this little show of genuine care could strike a chord or bring some form of strength to them. In summary, what I am telling you today is to pay attention and be sensitive to your leaders’ countenance or demeanor.
Offer to Help With Tasks that Need to be done: Many times, “more than many times sef!” Our leaders are saddled and burdened with so many tasks to get done within short periods. I thank God for men and women of God who help out with different tasks in the church, men and women of God who take up roles to ease out the responsibilities of the lead pastors and other leaders. As I write this right now, all I can think about is Moses who had so much to do every day as a leader in Israel and still be a father and a husband. Thank God for the wise counsel of his father-in-law, he probably would have died from exhaustion, or perhaps given up on God’s work. Jethro counseled him to appoint men who feared God, who could also do the something he was doing –Exodus 18:14-21. The question on my mind right now is, “Didn’t these men see Moses and how hard he worked?!” “Did any of them offer to help out at all?”
Well, while my question pends, I write to us today with the hopes that we do better. We should try to pay attention as I have said earlier and offer to help out with things that we recognize need to be done in the house of the Lord.
Acknowledge them, thank and Honor them: Our leaders do so much for us and the least we can do for them is show our appreciation to them and for them. A simple card, saying thank you could suffice or a text message, or our words of gratitude, or a gift showing your token of love and appreciation could also bring smiles to their faces. I Timothy 5:17 sums it all for us – Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching
Pray For Your Leaders: I hear so many men and women of God say this a lot, “pray for me”, “As birthday gifts, I appreciate your prayers”, and “All I need are your prayers”. Just like we pray for ourselves, let us commit to praying for our leaders as well. Whenever any leader comes to mind, I personally take it as a prompting to pray for that leader there and then. You never know what the leader is going through in that moment and perhaps your intercession may trigger angels to minister to them or strengthen them just as they did to Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. In summary, pray for your leaders wholeheartedly.
Commit to Growing in Intimacy, Wisdom, and Stature with the Lord: As prophet Moses’ time of service wound up, he had to commit the ministry of leading God’s children to someone else. Joshua was the one so fit for that task because Joshua had committed himself to growing in stature, and wisdom of the Lord. Imagine if there was no Joshua, Moses perhaps would have been worried about leaving the earth without appointing a competent leader over Israel. I am also almost sure that Moses delegated and entrusted some of his tasks to Joshua and other men or women who had shown growth and competence.
Committing to growing in intimacy, wisdom, and stature of the Lord first benefits you in ways and manners you cannot imagine. Then it benefits the kingdom of God because you can be entrusted with so many things that need to be done within the Kingdom. As this happens, you are easing out some burdens from off your leaders’ shoulders.
Love them Wholeheartedly -I Thessalonians 5:13: When you love your leaders the same way you love yourself, the above points will come naturally to you. As I wrap up this post, I encourage you, and remind you to love your leaders wholeheartedly. If you struggle with loving them wholeheartedly, ask the Lord to help you.