Proverbs 24:10 says; “if you faint in the days of adversity, it is because your strength is little” This Scripture simply opened us up to how capacity can be measured and it is in the days of adversity, responsibility and stretching. These are the things that determine how much or how little your strength could be. Don’t measure the capacity of your business when the economy is booming and looking good, but how it bounces back after a major loss and in the face of recession and economic downturn. Don’t measure the capacity of your working staff by the few customers or clients that come around; when customers are over whelming, how do they react, how do they handle challenges, stretching and pressure?

 

Why did I begin with these illustrations? It is just to point out to us that capacity largely does not refer to physical strength but to mental strength and character. And this mental strength talks about the mind. The strength of your mind is what determine how great a leader you would become. You don’t use your muscles to handle adversity, or pressure or responsibilities. You don’t use your muscles to create new ideas or proffer solutions, you engage the mind. This is why Gods criteria for leadership is different from that of men. This is where your mind steps in and one of the quickest way for the mind to faint is by outburst of emotions.  Your strength is determined by what you react to. It could be joy, peace, anger, tears or laughter or even giving up. The focus of this article is to expose and to open us up to a very vital requirement for leadership. It will also furnish us with a principle and strategy that will help us grow our leadership capacity and also to boost our problem solving skills. I would like to begin by drawing our attention to a statement David made in 1 Samuel 17:36, it says; “Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.”

 

A couple of times I have asked this question; what gave David the assurance that he was going to defeat this giant, seeing that Goliath was a champion and also more experienced than him. I want you to follow me patiently as the Holy Spirit brood on this verse. We have come to agree that perfection as a result of trainings and victories in the secret will always make for our effectiveness in the open. See how this verse began; David was testifying here, he said; “your servant has killed both lion and bear” that was the first stage; I have come to realize from this statement that faithfulness in the little is what guarantees greater responsibilities and commitments. But much more than that there was something David saw about the giant that no one else was seeing. This was the exact kind of statement Caleb and Joshua made when others were seeing giants the simply stilled the people before Moses, and said, let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.

 

 I am about to expose you to this powerful secret that will boost your organization or ministry or even your business or carrier. Then he said “and this uncircumcised philistine will be like one of them” Note that he didn’t call him a giant, neither did he call him a champion even though they were true, but there was something more real that king Saul didn’t see. David saw beyond the giant, Caleb and Joshua saw beyond the giants, what they all saw was an uncircumcised man who kept defying the armies of the living God. What does it mean to be uncircumcised? Uncircumcised in this context talks about the fact that this giant is estranged and alien in relation to the terms of the covenant between God and Abraham.  According to the Old Testament, circumcision is clearly defined as a covenant between God and all Jewish males. As God covenanted with Abraham in Genesis 17:10-14. It says; “This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you.”

 

Why did I make reference to this Scripture? It is because I want you to understand the divides of spirituality. There is a David here who is a covenant man and a giant who is not circumcised. This does not necessarily have to be the foreskin, what happened between Abraham and God was only a shadow of Gods intention for man. Hebrews 10:16 says; “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” So, what was David saying exactly when He called Goliath uncircumcised? He was simply saying although this man is a giant, although this man is a champion and has begun to fight from his youth, there is a weakness.

 

How did I know that? Gods intention was that the heart of every leader is circumcised, and the reason for this is so that the mind of every leader will retain the laws of God. But why is it important to retain the laws of God. See what God told Joshua in Joshua 1:8, it says; This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you^[c] shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. If God intends to infuse strength and courage into you, it won’t be outside His word and you are required to meditate on it, and this is entirely about engaging the mind through the Spirit. So, are you still wondering why Goliath lost the battle? If your ways will be prosperous as a leader, if you will record good success then what you retain in your mind is very important. Did David have good success? The answer is yes.

 

The mind of a man is very powerful, if you are defeated in the mind then you are already defeated. David knew that leadership is not by size but by the capacity of the mind and how large your heart can accommodate people. That is why God told prophet Samuel, man looks at the outward appearance but I God look at the heart. The necessary ingredient for leadership is a heart that is transformed and conformed to the image of Christ. See what he saw Goliath as; “an uncircumcised philistine.” What does this mean? Number one his mind and heart is weak talking about uncircumcision, number two; he is not a child of God, he is a philistine. See what Jeremiah 31:33 says; “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.  It means that until Gods law is imprinted on their minds and hearts; God is not their God and they will not be His people.

 

So, what have I been trying to say all these while? If you are in ministry, if you have an organization, if you are a recruiting firm; you must be sure what your staff retains in their minds. You must also be sure of what kind of laws and standards binds your business, ministry or organization. Is it the law of God or the law of something else? Excellence and growth is a product of what you feed your mind with, and what you should feed your mind with in order for it to become productive and effective is the word of God-the laws of God. 2 Timothy 1:7 says; “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” God is so particular about the mind of man, because If the mind is limited the man would be limited, and if the man is limited then the work of God will also be limited. So, there is a provision to augment this limitation, and it is called the Spirit of a sound mind. Apostle Paul said let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus. So, there was something about His mind that we must all have, His victories, His alignment with the Father, His judgements are excellent. Until the Spirit of Christ is engaged, productivity, profitability and excellence will be difficult.

 

But how does this begin to work and become effective in our lives? It was Watchman Nee that said Every affection, desire, thought, knowledge, intent, worship and work of the flesh must go to the cross. We are urged to be circumcised of the heart first by believing in Jesus, His sacrifice on the cross, and daily confessing Him as our master and Lord. Then meditate on His word and engage His Spirit to teach, to lead, to comfort and to direct us.  

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Apeh Francis Abah!

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