In leadership development a common thread of instruction is how to trust yourself, trust your own instincts. Leaders can and do make “gut” decisions, looking into their own minds and experiences to make choices, sometimes difficult ones, and to follow through and live with the result. The better those instinctive decisions, the better the leader. Psychotherapst Keanne Owens explains, “Learning to trust your intuition begins with self-awareness. Being self-aware allows an individual to know and understand their mannerisms, thoughts, and emotions. Once you are self-aware, you can identify those ‘gut feelings’ clearer.”[1] There is evidence that leading based on hunches can be successful.[2] But is this the best way to lead?
As in many facets of a man’s character, the instruction on trust with respect to biblical leadership is very different. Proverbs 3:5 tells us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” Psalm 9:10 promises, “And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.” And in Jeremiah 17:7-8 we are told, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” Throughout Scripture when we see the word trust, it applies to God. How, then, might we learn to trust God in a way that enhances our leadership?
Know God through His Word. Leaders tend to extend greater trust to people they know. In order to know God—His ways, mannerisms, interests, will and direction—you must know His Word. Daily reading and study of the Bible is a primary means to grow in your knowledge of God. The Bible is itself an autobiography of God. When you read it, you’re not primarily looking at a list of rules to follow in order to please God. Rather you are seeing how God speaks and acts in a variety of circumstances.
Reading the Bible first and foremost teaches you about the nature and character of God Himself. As you know when and why God acts, you’ll begin to develop trust in Him. Equally so, you’ll also know how to lead in your own life in a manner that is pleasing and acceptable to God. The Bible contains history, poetry, prophecy, chronology, specific instructions and stories of obedience, disobedience and consequences. Through the Bible a leader learns about many facets of God’s plans, purposes and character. When you know about the Person of God, you are better able to trust that Person.
Share concerns with God in prayer. If studying the Bible communicates what God is thinking, then spending time in prayer broadcasts your thoughts and concerns back to God. Leaders build trust in others through communication. The back-and-forth of prayer grows trust in God as you relate your prayers to Him and He responds over time. How do you know God is responding? People who pray regularly develop a sense of God’s answers. In order to experience the results of prayer, you must engage in the practice of prayer.
Wait on God through the Holy Spirit. Ultimately trust is about doing the hard thing by putting your confidence in the Person at the other end. Trusting God involves waiting on His timing with respect to actions, circumstances, relationships and opportunities. God gives Christ-followers His presence through the Holy Spirit living in them. The Spirit gives us the faith required to trust God, especially in His timing.
God uses time in a unique way. This is often out-of-step with our fast-paced and impatient culture. When we are trusting God to work through us, He uses time to each us in all areas of life and leadership. And God uses waiting as a tool for us to grow in our trust that He knows the precise when that is required for His purposes. The ability to wait, and to seek God more during the waiting, is a means by which our trust in God grows.
We complain constantly, at home and at work. This spills over in our culture, which is consumed by victimhood. In social media, the news media, education, government and business, we are on the lookout for every tiny hint of present and historical unfairness.