Brokenness is essential for godly leadership.

That may be a hard reality to swallow, but it is unequivocally…true!

God uses brokenness to prepare His leaders.  In fact, true dependence on God often only comes through brokenness.

For most of my life, I have worked really hard to pursue excellence in every area of my life.  I’ve done this for two primary reasons.

First, I firmly believe my Lord deserves the very best of me in everything. [ref. 1 Corinthians 10:31]

Second, I personally hold quality and accuracy in high regard.  I understand perfectionism is the risk of that strength when its unguarded, but excellence is the reward.

With excellence as a personal value, I‘ve worked and served for the majority of my life from a position of confidence and competence.  My time in the military and law enforcement fueled, refined and honed my emphasis and confidence in high caliber performance.  I consistently embraced axioms like: “Any job worth doing is worth doing right,” and I thrived under the pressure of it.  I quite honestly loved it.

However, over a number of years, God has led me into a different paradigm.  He has frankly led me into what I would call the valley of brokenness and the crucible of crushing, and He has been teaching me to lead from there.

I really wasn’t surprised by the reality of brokenness.  I’ve seen it before.  As a State Trooper, I witnessed firsthand more tragedies, hardships and painful circumstances than I ever care to remember.  I’ve also personally journeyed my own paths of suffering, but what surprised me this past year was the newfound depth of that valley.  God took me further into brokenness than I’ve ever gone before; and that’s where I found a new level of dependence on Him.

At first, I resisted.  Initially, I recoiled and even questioned His goodness in it; but then in true brokenness, I relented.  I relinquished what turned out to be a perspective on grace, forgiveness, love and relationship that lacked the refining influence of suffering.  From that position, the Lord began to birth in me a new level of submission and dependence on Him.

Because…brokenness is essential for godly leadership. [ref. Psalm 51:16-17]

If we were able to ask Moses, David, Joseph or any other Biblical leader about this reality, I am certain they would say…brokenness is essential for godly leadership.

Here’s a relevant quote I found awhile back: “When God wants to do an impossible task, He takes an impossible person and crushes Him.” – Allen Redpath

Take moment to consider…

What area of your life is God pursuing greater dependence on Him through crushing…through brokenness?

Are you resisting or relenting?

More to come soon…

[Click here for Part I]