Spiritually mature leaders are called to trust God even when they do not understand what He is doing. Read Job 1:1-22.

Job was a wealthy landowner that lived in Northern Arabia somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,000 years before Jesus was born. Based on the scriptural description of Job we would be hard pressed to find a better leadership model. Job was industrious, devoted to God and family, successful, and had a good reputation among his peers. But suddenly without warning signs of any kind disaster struck his business and personal life. Job was a leader wholly dedicated to God and living a righteous life, yet God allowed Satan to viciously tear apart every aspect of Job’s life. How many of us can relate!

Leaders need to respond with skill and wisdom to initiate changes in the world around them. Read Esther 2-4.

Mordecai was a Jewish man living in exile in Babylon. Mordecai could trace his ancestors back to Kish, father of Saul the first king of Israel. His actions reveal that he knew Jewish beliefs and the Law of God the Jewish people lived by. His actions also demonstrate that he understood very well the prejudice faced by a minority group in a foreign land. Mordecai became a focal point in Esther’s story because he raised Esther after her parent’s death and became her trusted mentor and advisor.

Proverbs 16:11-12tlb says, “The Lord demands fairness in every business deal. He established the principle. It is a horrible thing for a king to do evil. His right to rule depends on his fairness.” Wise leaders understand the power of fairness when developing team unity. Read Nehemiah 5:1-8.

Nehemiah had faced and handled plenty of external conflict from other nations around Jerusalem in the process of rebuilding the walls but often the most debilitating conflicts to progress come from internal strife.

Effective leaders help their team believe they can be trusted as their leader by giving them understanding of the scope of their work before a project starts and continually reinforcing why the team is taking certain actions as the project progresses. These actions are designed to help the team believe in their leader as much as understand the project. Read Nehemiah 2:5-18.

God had given Nehemiah His favor with King Artaxerxes and allowed him to return to Jerusalem from Babylon to rebuild the protective walls around the city. Nehemiah showed up in Jerusalem with some fanfare. He rode in, probably dressed more like a “royal” than an ordinary caravan visitor. He was escorted by a troop of Persian cavalry sent by the king for his protection. His initial actions gave indication he wasn’t passing through but staying a while. If you were a citizen of Jerusalem, there was more reason to mistrust Nehemiah than to trust him. It might have been hard to see him as a leader that had Jerusalem’s best interest at heart.

A trustworthy leader is crucial if a team is to function with confidence. If the leader does not trust their team or the team does not trust their leader, initiative and productivity will be greatly diminished; conversely, when trust flourishes, accomplishment abounds. Read 2 Kings 12:13-16.

Joash was established as the king of Judah when he was seven years old. As a young man he served God and helped the priests repair the spiritual condition of the people. During those years he also asked the priests to repair the physical condition of the temple. Years went by and even though Joash had authorized the use of selected temple offerings for the repairs, the priests used the offerings to make expensive silver basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, and other articles of gold and silver for the temple but no repairs to the structure.