I call it the “down” side of leadership. Most of us, in whatever leadership role we have, enjoy the good days when everyone seems on your side. All things are humming, and great things are being accomplished. We even get a bit energized when we have to have to deal with the “enemy,” whomever or whatever it is. Many times, that pulls the team together.

But what about the days when you have to go against the grain, against what the rest of the staff thinks or feels? What about when you have to discipline someone for their actions, or worse, when you have to let someone go from the team? Those are not the good days.

Someone once said you don’t learn to sail a boat in calm waters. It is in the storms…the wind and the heavy waves…that you learn the most. If you are facing a major challenge, that is probably not what you want to hear.

My recent walk through Nehemiah’s life and actions reminded me that he faced lots of opposition as a leader. Maybe the most striking to me was after the wall was built, the people
had worshiped the Lord, and Nehemiah had gone back to King Artaxerxes for a while. Upon his return he learned that one of the priests had provided a special room right on the Temple grounds for Tobiah, one of the men who had opposed Nehemiah in the building of the wall. Not a good thing. Here’s how Nehemiah described what happened next.

When I arrived back in Jerusalem, I learned about Eliashib’s evil deed in providing Tobiah with a room in the courtyards of the Temple of God. I became very upset and threw all of Tobiah’s belongings out of the room. Then I demanded that the rooms be purified, and I brought back the articles for God’s Temple, the grain offerings, and the frankincense. Nehemiah 13:7-9 NLT

It doesn’t stop there. Keep reading in Nehemiah 13 and you learn of many other wrongs that this leader had to set back right. I’m sure there were a lot of people very unhappy with Nehemiah and his leadership.

What makes this story stand out to me are three things:

  1. Nehemiah was following God’s plan, not his own
  2. Nehemiah was not doing these things for personal gain or acclaim.
  3. Nehemiah was less concerned about what men said or thought and was more concerned about pleasing the Lord.

Of course, that doesn’t make those kinds of days fun. I’m sure this great leader wished for calm days for himself and for God’s kingdom. But Nehemiah knew what he had to do, and he was willing to sail into the storm to set things right.

Computer scientist and U.S Navy Rear Admiral Grace Hopper once said, “A ship in port is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.”The smooth, calm waters are not always what leaders get to sail in. As you lead, be sure you know God’s will…through prayer and Bible study. Don’t act out of desire for personal gain. And remember…you are serving God, not man.

Set your sail, leader. With the Lord by your side, you can weather the storm.