Overcoming insecurities in Leadership
Everyone has them! Everyone struggles with them! Insecurities!! There is not one person that does not have some degree of insecurity. Some leaders are very inward focused, sheepish, and intimidated by others. Other leaders are very outward and loud and portray an “I’m large and in charge” persona, either way, the issue is the same….insecurity!
For a leader the overall, big picture, once and done solution for this issue is a leaders call from God! Either I am secure in the calling He has given me or I am not. Either I am secure in His choice and will for me or I am not. Either my success, victory and peace rests in what He desires to do through me or I am not. If I choose to focus on myself and what I don’t have or do have to be successful the end result is the same…insecurity. But if I choose to fulfill His focus for me, then there is rest, peace, comfort, success and FREEDOM!!
Ezekiel chapter 2 clearly communicates a call of God on the prophets life. When we follow these principles from this chapter of Ezekiel’s life, we too can have the FREEDOM to be who God wants us to be by FULFILLING exactly what He has uniquely called each of us to do:
1. We must be Holy Spirit filled! God filled Ezekiel and then He spoke to Him telling him what He wanted him to do (“v.2 and v.4- the Spirit entered into me, and I heard Him, I send you to them and you shall say to them”). We too must be filled by and with the Spirit of God if we want Him to speak to us and know what step to head in next.
2. We must not be afraid! God told Ezekiel to not be afraid of what the people would say or do. (v.6) He told him to not be afraid of how they think about him or how they might “give him looks”. God told him they were a rebellious people and because of that Ezekiel should expect them to talk about him and give him dirty looks and ignore him and what God is saying. Are we any different? Insecurity is a form of fear. when we get all uncomfortable and start worrying about what the people are saying or how they are treating us and then we get all discouraged and down, then we are fearing the people more than fearing the God who called us and told us what to say. Insecurity is a result of trusting in the wrong God, almost idolatry if you will. The enemy is so deceptive in this way in our lives. We must not allow the devil to steal anymore of God’s glory and just trust in the Lord, the one who called us and gave us the message we are to share.
3. We must speak the message! God gave Ezekiel a clear message. regardless if it was what the people wanted to hear it, Ezekiel was to be faithful to the calling from God. Here lies great freedom and faith. freedom, not insecurity, but freedom comes from doing exactly what God has told us to do regardless of what other people say or think. Our faith grows too, because we are trusting in the Lord and His words and for Him to fulfill them.
4. We must be paying attention and listening! (v.8) God told Ezekiel to “hear” what He said to Him. Ministry is busy. Life is busy. I am pretty sure that the devil has his hands in this too. The pastor of the church that helped us get started, Ken Adams, said this…”if the devil can’t make you bad, he will make you busy”. Busy-ness can be stimulating. Also, busyness can be satisfying to a leaders pride. But more often than we’d like to admit…busyness can steal our time from us spending time with the Lord in devotion, study, prayer, simple bible reading, basically, a quiet time! The most important minutes of a leaders day, are the minutes he/she spends with the Lord talking to Him and “listening” to Him (Bible reading and prayer)!!
When God speaks, we listen, we obey, we say…there is no need to be afraid (insecure) about anything. The chips have fallen, God’s will be done!! FREEDOM 🙂
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