"He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and in his strength he struggled with God. Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed; he wept, and sought favor from Him. He found Him in Bethel, and there He spoke to us"
When faced with strategic direction decisions we really have one of three decisions to be made; To lead, follow, or get out of the way. The final part this three part series is about leading.
As we have read the last two days, businesses can take one a number of strategies as they maneuver the marketplace. The one that most would prefer would be to lead. It sounds easy to say that we want to be the leader, but there is lots to becoming the leader and even more to staying there once the leadership position is achieved. A plan can be put in place, the right people hired, the perfect people managing perfectly and making it all happen but the competition just isn't budging and the business isn't gaining ground. This means that businesses may have to fight to gain the leadership mantle. Fighting doesn't have to be thought of as being mean or hurtful. Fighting can be thought of as contending and finding the extra strength, courage and fortitude to get even better and more creative than ever. A friend of mine was telling me about their company's new CEO who had come from the fast moving consumer goods industry and was now the CEO of a large telecommunications company. When the competition made a move in pricing or providing new services, this CEO struck back and countered and contended. The first time the company did so so it caused a lot of debate within the company as this was new and foreign to them. But the CEO said it right when he explained that what was happening was like losing that prime shelf space or display in the grocery store to a competitor's product. Once it is theirs you don't get it back. Once you lose a customer you can spend multiples trying to lure them back. He was willing to fight to keep his current customers and willing to fight to gain ground over the competition. That reaction was the look of a company who is going to be the leader. So, sometimes things are worth fighting for and those are also the things that we want to be in the leadership spot.
David Wilkerson describes the account of someone who was willing to personally contend so that he someday could be a leader for God. Let's read Pastor Wilkerson's account of Jacob: "Esau came forth from his mother's womb first—a baby covered with hair (his
name means "hairy"). But his twin, Jacob, grabbed his heel while still in the
womb. What a shock the midwife must have had when she saw Esau come forth with
a tiny hand gripping his heel! In the very brief passage (above) about Jacob, the prophet Hosea sums up how to overcome and prevail with God! Hosea's message was, "Here was a man greedy for God, hungry for everything God had for him!" Jacob came out of the womb in a fighting mood, longing for the blessings of God! There was something of a godly instinct in this child. It was as if he was saying, "Brother, if you don't want the fullness of God, I do. Get out of my way! I will not be left behind in God's blessings!" The birthright and blessing of Jacob's desire throughout his life represents all the blessings that are in Christ Jesus! Yet it was not the double portion of his father's wealth that Jacob was after nor was it the promise of the land.
No, Jacob wanted something more. He wanted the blessing of God so he could be in
the lineage of the Messiah! And he wanted the priestly blessing. This meant not
only being priest of the clan, but also being able to bless others!"
What are we wrestling with today that we know we should be leading, but haven't been willing to contend or fight for? It may be that God is telling us that it is time to step up and lead! It may be that now is the time that God wants to also give us our blessing and for us to become the leader for Him that He wants us to be! Lord, let today be that day!
Reference: Hosea 12:3-4
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