Blog: Max Dawson
July 13, 2017
Last time we talked about how Nehemiah began his task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem with the end in mind. This is one of the qualities that made him a leader. He knew the result he wanted to achieve and would let nothing stand in the way.
A leader not only begins with the end in mind, he also knows the steps to take along the way. He knows what needs to be done next. Let’s follow the steps Nehemiah took to accomplish his task. The verses from Nehemiah where these points may be found are in the left column below. Notice the things he saw.
1:2-4 – Before Nehemiah saw anything else. he first saw the problem.
1:4-11 – Because Nehemiah was a man of faith, he saw the need for prayer.
2:1-9 – Because he saw the size of the task, he saw the need for help from others.
2:8, 18 – Throughout the endeavor, Nehemiah saw the hand of God upon himself.
2:11-15 – Upon arrival in Jerusalem, he saw the need to assess the situation.
2:16-17 – Nehemiah saw the need to cast his vision before the Jewish leaders.
2:18 – He saw the need to get buy-in from the Jewish officials in Jerusalem.
3:1-32 – He saw the need to organize the people and get them working.
THE FINAL WORD
I entitled today’s blog “The Wisdom of Nehemiah.” Can you see why I chose that title? This man exercised wisdom every step along the way. He always knew what needed to be done next. That’s a critical quality of leadership.
Maybe that quality comes easier for some leaders than for others. The ability to see what needs to be done next often comes from years of experience. It can also come from making lots of mistakes along the way. But that doesn’t seem to be the case with Nehemiah.
Maybe Nehemiah had such wisdom because he began with the end in mind. He was always thinking about the outcome he wanted to achieve.
That’s an important lesson for leaders. It’s an important lesson for life. What is the ultimate goal–outcome, end, or result–you want to achieve?
Blessings to you, my forward-thinking friends,
–Max