He Will Never Leave Us

"After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead.

Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them-to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.

Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates-all the Hittite country-to the Great Sea on the west. No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” - the Lord, Joshua 1:1-5

I believe this is what every leader’s hope is – that the Lord would guide and be with us as we continue the journey of leadership.

After Moses’ death, the Israelites continued the journey to the Promised Land, Canaan. The Nation of Israel comprises of people who were the younger generation of Israelites. It was through them that the Promise would be fulfilled. But the question arises among the tribes when Moses was no longer with them: “who will lead us?”

The Lord called Joshua, Son on Nun, to lead them; He was one of the spies going to the Canaan Lands, He was Moses’ aide and companion. He grew up to be a fine young man that the Lord has called him to fill Moses’ shoes as a leader of the chosen people of God.

Joshua portrays a heart who believes in  a God who fulfills His mandated word. It was through this comforting words that, I believe, Joshua got his courage to stand tall and fight: “No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you…” that’s what gave him the strength to move on and conquer.

And so is it with us called to lead this present generation. Whether we are serving in non-profit organizations, church ministries or even in the government, God will be with us. He has promised it through Joshua, the Judges, the good kings – like Saul, David, Solomon and many more. He was with the Prophets, and He was with Jesus and the Apostles and even until now. He fulfilled what He has faithfully promised to and through them and He will fulfill his promises to us.

“He will never leave us nor forsake us” no matter how hard the battle is- for He is God with us, our Emmanuel and let us trust Him with that!

Praying and My Blindspot

One of the hardest thing in being in a youth ministry is that we deal with different people. Although we are united to serve our Lord we oftentimes juggle up with other people who are not familiar with us or the way we do things. When I reflect on my flaws before, I honestly considered myself a curse rather than a blessing to my friends back then. My personality made me look bad and lost my effectiveness in becoming an ambassador for Christ.

When the Lord gave me the opportunity to lead, one of my greatest challenge is my personality. I was the kind of person who is a perfectionist and dominant. People around me noticed that and it hindered them to grow and mature in their gifts together with me. It was actually my "blind spot" and it was blocking me to make friends with my fellow youth.

The Lord slowly changed my personality after the group leaders decided to have an open forum and shared our difficulties and challenges in working with one another. It was during that time when the group decided to pray for one another and seriously ask the Lord to change us and mold us in his likeness. That the fruits and character of the spirit will be present in our lives so we can be effective witnesses of His Kingdom purpose.

It's amazing how prayer changes everything. I committed myself to pray daily for the Lord to change me inside-out. I was so conscious at that time that every time I speak or do something, I asked the Lord to guide me and have self-control, to be patient and mindful of my words when dealing with people. God used those unforgettable prayer times to change me.

After 3 months of praying people noticed a big changed in me. A close friend of mine told me that they've never heard me complain about something and that I was more approachable than before. I was no longer strict and that people liked me a lot when I talk. God was gracious enough to let me experience being changed slowly through prayer.

And I would like to challenge you, if you are a leader or aspiring to be one, ask the Lord to show you your own "blind spot" or weakness(es) and pray that He will change you. Ask a friend or two to pray with you and remind you always whenever your attitude changes. Although sometimes its hard to changed, I believe practice really makes perfect. Add prayer to that and you'll see exciting changes in your life from that moment on.

Thank You for reading!

Fear: The Moses Syndrome

Moses, one of my favorite character in the bible portrays the perfect example of my fear before. As what the Genesis accounts share, He was afraid in being in front of an audience. If you would remember, Moses met the Great “I AM” through a burning bush and with all God has told him, the first fear he had was that he doesn’t know how to speak.

I remember as a 15 year old teenager, our youth adviser would ask anyone from the youth to either share a testimony, pray in front or become the emcee for the activity and everyone would hide, including me. I often ran outside and wait for the affair to start literally because I was afraid to be in front. 

I was afraid to make mistakes. Although I had the passion to share God’s word, I was afraid . Like Moses, I was in the dilemma of trusting that the God who gave me these gifts is able to help me through thick and thin. 

Based on my experience, we don’t want to get involved  because we are all afraid to make mistakes. We fear that people will laugh at us with our grammar, or the way we walk or whatever our mind would tell us everytime an opportunity comes up. I missed those first few opportunities because I decided to dwell on my fear rather than asking God's courage and wisdom.

Overcoming fear will help us gain self-confidence and trust the Lord with our present need. It is only when we trust the Lord wholly that we can truly understand the Lord's word to the Israelites in Isaiah 41:10 -

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

After that opportune time when I first said “yes” to the invitation to facilitate that the Lord developed my self-confidence in being in front. Of course, there were times that I was pretty much afraid but there were a lot of times of humbling down before the Lord and asking for His much grace and anointing. It was a tough decision back then but it was God's way of letting me understand that it's not because of me or what I can do but it's because of His grace I am able to stand in front.

Like Moses, it only took trust to change all that. There are a lot of reasons to say “No” but there are good reasons to say “Yes” to these exciting opportunities. Moses was afraid to become God’s spokesman because He didn’t know how to speak but God dismissed that notion. When Moses decided to say yes to the Lord, He led the people of Israel out of Egypt, defeating the tyrannical Pharaoh and signs and wonders followed from then on.

Although I still experience the butterflies, I seldom say “No” when asked to be in front of a crowd because like Moses, signs and wonders does follow to those who believe and obey to God's calling.

A Dream Birthed

Dreams, they say, if coming from God is far beyond bigger and wilder than we have to expect. As one author defines it – it’s bigger than you are that it seems impossible to be done in one’s lifetime. I have to agree with what he said. Part of my God-given dream is influencing other youths to bringing change and impact to this world for His glory. That dream birthed six years ago and the same craving to see this dream come true is still alive in my heart today.

I always believe that the Filipino youth has so much potential that once it’s tapped, there’s no sense of knowing how it will ignite a movement of the new breed of leaders God is calling. These thoughts inspired me to start where I was and fulfill, one step at a time, what God has for me.  Understanding that God’s eternal clock is different from mine, I'm starting this blog to write about my own personal experiences in becoming a leader and the lessons it entailed.

Perhaps many of you are in the same situation as to where I am now. Like me, God has given you a desire to do something for Him only to find out you don’t have the idea on how to start with it. And yes, I am still in the process of pruning and has not reached the fulfillment of God’s dream for me, but I pray, that whatever things I’ve learned and experienced so far, can help you jumpstart your own journey as well in fulfilling your own God-given dream.

Just Another Blog About Leadership

This might be the _nth time I created a blog for the last 5 years I started blogging. Although only 1 blog remained out of the many I created,I believe this one will be the much loved blog aside from Melankoliko, the personal blog I have.

So, what's the blog all about?

This may sound crazy but I'll be sharing more on christian leadership - specifically youth leading.

I know our generation has a lot to offer with the tips and tricks about leadership and creating a blog again about leadership may sound old news. Perhaps to some, you kind of wonder whether I am the best person to share about leadership and I have to agree with you - I am not.

In matters of leadership, I still consider myself a "greenhorn". Although I have been a youth leader for so long, I am still dumbfounded sometimes about the many things I need to learn and relearn about leadership. It seems an endless discovery that I am excited to explore. God was gracious enough to let me experience in position of influence and do many things for His glory and purpose.

My blog's aim is not to become a well known "protege" about leadership but just a place where I can share what the Lord has taught me through the years about leadership - it's flaws and benefits and the enriching experience of growing in the likeness of Him.

Radical leading, if I may, is my own personal blog that will discuss about christian leadership and my own experience growing up as a Christian. I hope you'll find this blog insightful as you journey with me in learning valuable lessons in light of my life and the gems God has brought me through the years.

Thanks for visiting and please do come again!