Obayomi Abiola: Good day everyone. Welcome to this week's edition of Leaderview. On today’s podcast, I have an important personality, he is a life coach, he is a leadership consultant, he is a thought leader; and we're going to be doing justice to what we are going to be sharing with ourselves today. As a leader, I believe there is so much he  is going to be sharing with us in this subject that is going to help our leadership assignment. I just want him to introduce himself so that we can get to meet him. Can you please introduce yourself?

 

Gboyega Adedeji: Alright, my name is Gboyega Adedeji. So good to be here.

 

Obayomi Abiola: All right, thank you so much. Today we want to at: How to Reignite Your Leadership Pursuits Through Rest. I've come to realize that many times as leaders, we get to a point where we lose our steam, you know, this is not uncommon in leadership. There are times the assignment gets so enormous; it gets so bogus and big that we don't even know how to go about them. And there are times the vision, you know, the goal that has been set before us as leaders look so big, that we begin to look at it and asking ourselves: how do I overcome this. And one of the challenges at this point in our leadership is it drains us of our energy, it drains us of our zeal, our passion to even want to continue. And there is a scripture I discovered because this is why we are looking at the subject matter of rest as it relates to a leader.

 

Now I discovered something in Genesis chapter 2:1-3, the Bible says: “Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. ² And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.” Now, from this place, one of the things that is so palpable, that we can easily see is the fact that God rested. God rested from all His works that He had done. And that is, from this perspective, we're looking at this subject matter because as a leader, I've come to realize that if you're not going to lose your steam, if you're not going to lose focus, there should be times when you should take some time out to rest, because the pattern of rest actually was laid by God for us in this place. The Bible says, “God rested.”

 

And it is not just in this place, if you also read Mark 6:31-32, Jesus in that place also emphasized rest. The Bible says: “Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. ³¹ And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. ³² So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.”

 

So, in this two Scriptures, we have seen that the place of rest is actually important in leadership. And that is why we are looking at it because when you get to a point where you feel like you are losing your energy, you are losing your steam as a leader, everything seems on a standstill, it looks as if you are not making progress, this could be the reason, this could be the factor or the missing link, in your leadership; that rest. And I want our guest to speak to it based on what I've said so far. What do you think, actually, is the place of rest in leadership?

 

Gboyega Adedeji: Very good thought you've shared with us from the two Scriptures, you know, looking at that Genesis chapter two, especially verse two, the Bible says: “On the seventh day, God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all his work.” I think this could also be missing for many leaders, sometimes we rest from some works, and we go to other works and yet we think we are resting. But God rested from all. How many of us can be that bold, can be that confident in God and say, even though I'm resting from all, all will not fail why I am resting. But because you really need to be alive, to really finish your work. If you must finish it, then you must sustain the life that God has given you as a resource that you must use to accomplish all your desires.

 

So, if we don't learn this, like God has set an example for us, don't just be a man or a woman that tells himself or herself “Oh, let me just read from doing this.” And then you get yourself encumbered with a lot of other activities. Even though you're telling yourself you're resting from one or two or three other things, since you are not really resting, your body does not fit the rest. Your work may be feeling the rest, your work may be missing you in action, but your body has no opportunity to recuperate, to get itself refreshed and restored. So, we still get ourselves burnt out, we still get ourselves exhausted even though our jobs, our works don't feel us, our leadership, our assignment don't really feel our presence. So, if we may learn from what God had done, I think it's better.

 

Because there's something else; I must also say. There are many days in the week, seven days to be specific. God had worked for six days and He rested from all-in-one day, and as if that was enough, so, God was fine on the next day. So, how many of us can do that? And what I'm saying is this. If we can learn to rest from all, just a little time of that rest, may be enough for us. Now what we do is we rest from some and we rest for a very long time, yet, we return still exhausted. So, it's like, it doesn't matter that you tell yourself, I'm resting for 30 days, you could do well, if you can rest for two days when you rest from all. That is, resting from all your activities as a leader in a short time, could benefit your body, could benefit your life, could benefit your marriage, could benefit everything about you much more than resting for a longer time, when indeed you are encumbered with many things.

 

Obayomi Abiola: Based on what you've just said now, one thing that I pick, which is so vivid is that for a leader, when we're talking about rest, it should be holistic, not that you rest from some and pick up other things. And so, when we are talking about that, as it should be holistic, it should be total, if it is two days, if it is one week, let it be that that period is actually a period you rest. I shouldn't be asking you questions. This should be a discussion, but something came to my heart while you were speaking. Based on that Scripture we read, do you think that rest is negotiable or non-negotiable for a leader?

 

Gboyega Adedeji: Apparently. Since God has set an example. Obviously, we know God is Spirit, God doesn't share in our fleshy or human weaknesses. A Spirit yet He rested. So, He has set an example for us and He is the Supreme Leader, He is the leader of all leaders. So, if it was not negotiable for God, it shouldn't be negotiable for us. So, if God was able to finish well and finish strong, if we must also finish well and finish strong whatever we've set our hearts to achieve, then we must practice this, if we may call it; this culture of rest.

 

Obayomi Abiola: So, the culture of rest for a leader is actually very important.

 

Gboyega Adedeji: Very important.

 

Obayomi Abiola: And the pattern is laid down by God.

 

Gboyega Adedeji: It's laid down. You know, before you go on, there is something important that came to my heart. I remember reading some books growing up as a young man. And one of the things I realized, especially for spiritual leaders. Now, you're talking to leaders, but for spiritual leaders that have realized they do a lot. Many leaders across the world that are really effective, they set out at least, about three days in the in the month that they seclude or they separate themselves from their families, from everything. They call it a moment of fast or a moment of retreat. But that is it. They don't miss it. Every three days, maybe the first three days of the month or the last three days of the month. They set themselves apart. And that's what Jesus also exemplified in Mark 6 that we read. “Let's go to a deserted place.”

 

That's a time you stay away from the social media, you stay away from getting alerts, getting emails, perhaps, you stay away from your phone, from national issues, organizational issues and whatever politics going on around the world. Pandemic or no pandemic, economic disaster or no economic disaster, just stay away. It is a moment that really refreshes any leader. I am sure, if a man or a woman could give himself or herself to such practice, it could produce greater productivity and effectiveness in the leadership.

 

Obayomi Abiola: There is a point that came to my heart because there is another Scripture that I'm just going to paraphrase which I am not going to read. Do you think that rest gives a leader fresh perspective? Because if you look at that Scripture in John chapter four, when Jesus was talking to that Samaria woman, Jesus was actually resting. And Jesus had a whole lot of perspective about that woman that was different from what the people of her generation has. Do you think rest produces that?

 

Gboyega Adedeji: It produces definitely. You know, He was already tired, the disciples went a way to buy food, so that He could get some strength. But since He was also resting while they went away, He was getting refreshed. That is why, even though it could be important to set certain times of the month of the year that will rest even, within the day, I'm sure many of us are aware that God didn't create us to work 24/7. God created us to sleep, we must sleep. Jesus said, “I will do the work of Him that sent me while it is day, for the night comes when no man can work.”

 

For a human being, the night time is a time for rest. But it's important we also understand that in the course of your leadership, there must be some night times that you tell yourself, it's time for me to rest, let me take a little break, let me have a different perspective. There are times we are trying to solve a particular problem because we are looking at the problem alone, we don't see solutions, it could be better to take our minds off the problem, go into other activities, and that could be rest for you. By the time you come back, you begin to see the problem from many angles. And then solution appears.

 

Obayomi Abiola: Now I believe we have heard it as leaders, this is exactly what I want to share with us today. You see many times we are losing out on our energy, we are losing our steam simply because we don't rest. Take time out to rest. Rest, as we have said, gives you a fresh perspective about the situation. It gives you a better insight. So don't just be all about the assignment. Don't be all about pursuing the vision, pursuing your followers, meeting the goals and the target. Let there be time that you take out for yourself to rest and it's a deliberate thing that you must do. You must not wear yourself out in the assignment or else you won't be able to even complete the assignments in the first place.

 

I believe you have picked one or two lessons that you're going to apply going forward in your leadership assignment. Thank you, sir, for coming on this episode of Leaderview. We are looking forward to having you again.

 

Gboyega Adedeji: It’s a pleasure. I can’t wait to be back again to do this again and again.

 

Obayomi Abiola: Alright. Till next time on Leaderview, my name remains Abiola Obayomi. Please don’t forget to take out some time to rest in your leadership. God bless you.

Thanks for the gift of your time, We are Obayomi Abiola Benjamin and Gboyega ADEDEJI!

Feel free to share your thoughts or testimony in the comment box below. I promise to respond to them as soon as possible!