Reporting for Duty: Learning to Lead like Nehemiah

11/12/22 – 11/23/22

Called to Lead

By Michael Youssef, Ph D.  11/23/22

As we look around us, it is painfully obvious that the walls of our culture have crumbled. The walls of the church are in ruins. And the walls of many families are broken down.

At this critical time, God is calling us to be the Nehemiahs of our time—people who will step up and lead in a time that is bereft of leadership.

We are all called to be leaders in some arena of life—whether in the home, on your campus, in your church, in your office, in your ministry, in your military unit, or in your civic organization. God has equipped you with gifts for leadership and serving. As a leader, you must be prepared to spend time alone with God, listening to Him and allowing yourself to be prepared, trained, and commissioned by Him to step out and lead.

Much as Nehemiah surveyed the wreckage of Jerusalem, as we survey the wreckage of our culture, from the shattered gates of our education system to the rubble of moral relativism, it would be easy for us to feel overwhelmed and discouraged by the enormity of the task to rebuild. But like Nehemiah, we serve a God who is greater than all the powers of this world. Let this fact encourage and inform you as you seek to rebuild what God has placed before you.

Nehemiah began to rebuild by exhorting and encouraging the people of Jerusalem. He also identified with the people he would lead. He included himself in the work with the people, saying, “Let us build the wall.” Nehemiah was a leader, not a boss. He did not shout orders from an ivory tower; he got down in the trenches with his people. Like Nehemiah, be ready to serve and work alongside those you lead. God will work through your humility.

Prayer: God, help me to see the ways You would have me lead in the different arenas in which You have placed me. May I lead with humility and rest in You, laying down self to obey Your will. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“‘Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.’ . . . They replied, ‘Let us start rebuilding.’ So they began this good work” (Nehemiah 2:17-18).