How to Be an Inspiring Leader
Nehemiah is one of the greatest examples of leadership in all of the Scripture outside of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was able to achieve the amazing accomplishment of rebuilding the broken walls of Jerusalem in 52 days with the help of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. He inspired change that rewrote history. Look at how the people responded to his vision and leadership: Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work (Nehemiah 2:18).
But what is it that made Nehemiah such an amazing leader and enabled him to do what he did? Look at this snapshot from Nehemiah’s leadership that will give insight on how you can become an inspiring leader as well.
Nehemiah led from his heart, not his head
Even while in the palace in Persia, he already had a burden to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. That burden led him into a period of prayer and fasting where he felt from the heart the compelling call of God to go to Jerusalem and do what no one else was willing to do. Great leaders know that influence must come from the inner confines of the heart and not just an intellectual assent from the head. What has God placed upon your heart to do? What is it that you feel passionate about achieving in life? Pray about what is within you and begin to chase after your God-given dream. People will follow those whose heart is full of vision for a greater tomorrow. Determine today that you will live and lead from your heart and not your head. Join me tomorrow as we consider the next thought about what made Nehemiah an agent of change.
Nehemiah inspired people to do things they previously thought impossible
These walls had lay in ruin for 120 years and no one did anything about it. People walked by the walls thinking they did not have the ability to rebuild, so they did nothing. But with the influence and inspiration of Nehemiah, they suddenly felt the courage to get up and do something about the walls. The question every leader must ask himself is this: are people better because of my influence? Do they believe in themselves and what God can do through them? Great leaders always make people believe things about themselves that they previously thought were impossible.
Nehemiah withstood the criticism of his enemies
Immediately, the enemies came against what Nehemiah was doing. Sanballat and Tobiah said, “What is this thing that ye do? Will ye rebel against the king?” But Nehemiah did not allow the negative criticism to deter him from what he was called to do. The enemy will always come against you when you launch into what God has called you to, but great leaders do not allow the negativity of those around them to deter them from pursuing their calling. They press forward through the criticism and believe that God will enable them to achieve great things for Him.
No matter where you are in your leadership…you can inspire people to do things that they once thought were impossible. The challenges in front of you can be overcome by the grace of God when you truly step up and be the man or woman God has called you to be. There is something within you that seems impossible on the surface, but God is calling you to lead in a way like you have never led before. Let today be the day that influence begins!