God Has a Plan by Rich Stearns

God has a plan for every leader.

By Rich Stearns ~

God has gifted us as well as the people around us. Eric Liddell was an Olympic gold medalist portrayed in the Academy Award-winning movie Chariots of Fire. Before he entered into full-time missionary work, he participated in the Olympics. Some criticized him for this decision. His response was “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run, I feel his pleasure.”

We serve at God’s pleasure and for his pleasure. And when we focus on Christ, God is glorified, not us. Like Moses, I have been guilty as a leader questioning God’s call, hiding in my own comfort zone. But each time I have trusted God and surrender to his plan, I have been amazed.

There is a freedom in being released from my career and ambitions to pursue God’s calling. I am released from my selfish ambitions, and the worldly demands for the more success because my life becomes about God’s glory, not my own. As William Sloane Coffin wrote, “I love the recklessness of faith. First you leap, and then you grow wings.”

Once you realize that God has invited you to be part of his incredible plan for the world, it becomes a thrill and privilege to be part of something bigger than yourself. And when we surrender, when we help carry out God’s vision, when we work with excellence and integrity with others of like mind, then we get to see the Lord’s prayer become a reality –

“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” – Matthew 6:10

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Rich Stearns is the president of World Vision U.S. This post is an excerpt from the Christian Leadership Alliance book, Non Profit Leadership in a For-Profit World: Essential Insights from 15 Christian Executives (Standard Publishing 2011).

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