Problems are part of every leader’s life. Effective leaders do not let problems paralyze them; they know that solutions usually exist. Read Genesis 37:5-36; 39:1-41:16.

Joseph dealt with everything from being tossed in a pit by his brothers and left to die, to being sold into slavery and transported to a foreign country, to false imprisonment and yet these problems did not stop him. Joseph could have taken any of these “problems” and lost faith in his situation and in God. It would be very difficult to imagine how long the last two years in prison seemed to Joseph after the release of Pharaoh’s cupbearer who had promised to speak to Pharaoh on Joseph’s behalf because Joseph had correctly interpreted his dream. If Joseph had put his faith in people instead of God, this incident could have crushed his spirit.

We have all served with good leaders and leaders that left a lot to be desired. Read Genesis 25:29-34 and 27:1-30.

Jacob stole the birthright from Esau. Later, with the help of his mother, Jacob stole the blessing of his father. Leaders can use several methods to bring their influence to bear. The following methods of leadership (influence) go from worst to first:

Leaders cannot do anything of significance in the kingdom of God until they humble themselves before God and seek His face. When a leader is broken of self they can be blessed by God. Read Genesis 32:24-32.

Jacob turned a corner as a leader the night he wrestled the Angel of God. He not only broke physically when the Angel dislocated his hip but he broke emotionally. After this night Jacob’s name was changed from “deceiver” to “Israel” meaning “prince with God.”

When defining leadership, many people have used the very succinct definition by J. Oswald Sanders where he simply states “Leadership is influence.” Every leader has a sphere of influence, people to whom their influence is direct and an extended sphere of influence where their influence is transferred through the next generation. According to Genesis 6:9 God chose Noah to be an influencer of an entire world starting over because “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time and he walked with God.” Read Genesis 6-11.

Just a glimpse at Noah’s sphere of influence comes when we understand a few facts about Noah’s life.