The COVID-19 pandemic which began in China has since crept into every nation of the world, causing different levels of socio-economic and humanitarian crises. The dawn of 2022 is a stark reminder of the protracted nature of the pandemic; and the need for courageous servant leadership has assumed a new dimension of urgency. As we all know, one of the tests of quality leadership is crisis management. In particular, courage in times of crisis is one of the qualities of true leadership. The same crisis that reveals the strengths and true credentials of a good leader also ultimately exposes the weaknesses and wrong mindsets of self-seeking leaders. In John 10:11-13, Jesus describes the good shepherd as one who cares for the sheep and lays down his life for them, while the hireling is portrayed as a self-absorbed man who flees and abandons the sheep in the midst of danger or crisis.
Moses had the threefold task of rescuing the Israelites from their life of bondage in Egypt, taking them to the promised land (Canaan), and helping them to settle into their God-given inheritance. In the course of fulfilling this challenging mandate, God instructed him to send twelve tribal representatives to spy out the land and to evaluate it (Numbers 13:1). Essentially, the twelve spies were delegates and tribal leaders of a theocratic nation, but they also exemplify two categories of leaders and their different responses to crisis situations. Some leaders are readily overwhelmed by contrary circumstances, resulting in fear, compromise and the derailment of God’s will and purpose; while others see the challenges in their path as opportunities for the manifestation of God’s glory. Caleb and Joshua belong to the second category. They were unique leaders who exhibited great faith, godly character and strong spiritual convictions.
Prompted by the prevailing circumstances, a majority of the spies came up with “an evil report,” advising against attacking the fortified cities or confronting the giants, or even venturing into the promised land. According to their report, the land was a good land, which flowed “with milk and honey” as God had indicated, but they could not bring themselves to embrace God’s promise to give the land to them. Based on what they had seen, they were no longer confident about their ability to dispossess the inhabitants of the land. Essentially, the leaders had a grasshopper mindset, as they saw themselves as grasshoppers in comparison with the giants in the land. On the basis of this report, the people were gripped by fear and discouragement, and were thus immobilized.
However, Caleb and Joshua saw things from a different perspective. Unlike the ten other spies, they had a spiritual focus; they aligned themselves with God and saw things with the eye of faith, and the result was a minority report in which they expressed a dissenting view. They believed that the awesome power of God would back up His promise to them. While calming the people down, Caleb said to them, “Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it” (Numbers 13:30). Two major functions of spiritual and servant leadership are, first, to impart faith in the people we lead, so they can forge ahead in times of crisis, and, second, to come up with the practical wisdom that is needed to navigate through the crisis. In times of crisis, we need the faith of Joshua and Caleb, mixed with the pragmatic wisdom of Nehemiah, under whose leadership the wall of Jerusalem was built.
God is at work in the nations of the world, doing great things and carrying out projects that have eternal significance. He is reaching the unreached, penetrating territories that are bound by the powers of darkness, rescuing the lost and raising up servant leaders. God is calling willing leaders to join the train of Christlike servant leadership. As we plan to deploy the resources of time, energy and money to various things in the course of the year, we should be asking ourselves a critical question: What percentage of those resources will go into improving our leadership skills? Again, as we lead our teams out in furtherance of various Kingdom assignments and objectives during the course of the year, we must learn to walk by faith. We must not be like the ten spies who came up with a negative assessment of the terrain and the task before them, leading to a mental paralysis and a crisis of monumental proportions. We must remember that the realm of God is a realm of limitless possibilities, for indeed all things are possible to those who believe.
The ten spies were guilty of assessing the task at hand vis-a-viz their natural resources and abilities. In so doing, they missed out on the entire purpose of the assignment, thus limiting themselves and the God that was mightily present in their lives. Conversely, Caleb and Joshua refused to assess the task and the challenge at hand based on their natural strength and resources. Rather, they assessed it with reference to God’s boundless riches and power. They saw the task and obstacles before them with the eyes of God, hence they arrived at a conclusion different from that of their brethren. The more we see God as He is, the smaller the challenges and obstacles in our path become. This will ultimately influence how we lead and the results we end up with.
