you want to know what leaders are made of, it would be good to find out how God builds them. Throughout history, we notice a type of pattern that repeats often. Though some differences exist, it seems there are some necessary building stages that He uses for those He chooses as leaders.
Look at two examples: Moses and Joseph.
There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Moses was a great leader. But many times we don’t think of Joseph as a leader. Joseph led Potiphar’s house extremely well, however, to the point that it prospered as never before. Eventually, Joseph rose to become none other than the prime minister of the greatest civilized nation at the time. And, he made it prosper in one of the most difficult times. Then, he led his father’s house to Goshen and managed to bring a very broken family back together.
If that’s not being a great leader, then I don’t know what it means. So let’s compare some of the stages in their lives.
“How far-reaching in its results was the influence of that one Hebrew woman, and she being an exile and a slave! The whole future life of Moses, the great mission which he fulfilled as the leader of Israel, testifies to the importance of the work of the Christian mother. There is no other work that can equal this. To a very great extent the mother holds in her own hands the destiny of her children. She is dealing with developing minds and characters, working not alone for time, but for eternity” (Patriarchs and Prophets, Ellen White, Page 244.
“Joseph’s gentleness and fidelity won the heart of the chief captain, who came to regard him as a son rather than a slave. The youth was brought in contact with men of rank and learning, and he acquired a knowledge of science, of languages, and of affairs—an education needful to the future prime minister of Egypt” (Page 217).
And Moses? Well, there is no doubt that he got in the best schools as the son of the princess. Make no mistake that he was at the best Ph.D. program in the world.
“At the court of Pharaoh, Moses received the highest civil and military training. The monarch had determined to make his adopted grandson his successor on the throne, and the youth was educated for his high station. ‘And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds’ (Acts 7:22)” (Page 245).
Remember this part: “He was mighty in words.”
So it’s clear, both of them received the best education you can get from the world. And they were ready to lead.
Joseph went to prison. Moses went to the desert, the mountains, to be a shepherd. Here is where the stories of these great leaders take a huge turn: just when you would think that they were getting ready to serve as leaders, their lives turned upside down into what looks like a disgrace. Or at least it looks like an unfair result, as if God was abandoning them for doing what they consider to be the right thing to do. And I bet that there was a lot of silence from God at the beginning of this stage.
So, what seems to be going on in this stage? Like they say, it wasn’t necessary to take Moses out of Egypt, it was necessary to take Egypt out of Moses. Getting their training and Ph.Ds may have been enough to lead a nation like Egypt, but it wasn’t enough for God’s plan.
Joseph learned about justice, sympathy and mercy while in prison. He also learned how to deal with ingratitude from the cup bearer who forgot about him for two years after Joseph helped him.
“God was preparing him in the school of affliction for greater usefulness, and he did not refuse the needful discipline. In the prison, witnessing the results of oppression and tyranny and the effects of crime, he learned lessons of justice, sympathy, and mercy, that prepared him to exercise power with wisdom and compassion” (Page 218).
Moses: What did he learn in the dessert, in the mountains?
“In the mountains, Moses was alone with God. The magnificent temples of Egypt no longer impressed his mind with their superstition and falsehood. In the solemn grandeur of the everlasting hills he beheld the majesty of the Most High … Everywhere, the Creator’s name was written … Here his pride and self-sufficiency were swept away. In the stern simplicity of his wilderness life, the results of the ease and luxury of Egypt disappeared. Moses became patient, reverent, and humble, ‘very meek, yet strong in faith in the mighty God of Jacob’ (Numbers 12:13)” (Pages 248-251).
Interesting that after his stage three of training in the wilderness and mountains, Moses answered God’s calling to lead by saying: “I can’t speak Lord.” That was a sign that the third stage of training was complete. Now Moses is ready for the mission.
It’s almost unfair. There are full chapters in the Bible describing all the tests of adversities that Joseph went through for about 15-20 years. I have some not-so-good news for you: there is no such idea as “God prepared me so I’m done.” Or, “He worked hard on me and I passed a lot of tribulation, but now that I passed all that, I’ve made it. I’ve crossed the finish line and I’m ready to lead for God.”
You still need to pass the long test of prosperity, which is equally difficult.
So, the question for us is where are we in God’s process? What is the prison (or desert, or mountain) that you need—that we all need—to become the great leader that God wants you to be? It could be a job reassignment, a transfer, your boss, an employee, your son or daughter, your spouse, a church member, your pastor, your health, or your finances. I don’t know; it could be anything. God can use anything or anyone to teach us “justice, sympathy, mercy, how to deal with ingratitude, how to be patient, reverent, humble, meek, full of wisdom and compassion.”
You may be coming out of stage three right now and God puts you in stage four for now. You are the leader. You feel you can finally do what you have waited and worked hard for your entire life.
Praise the Lord He put you there. Just remember, like Joseph, you’ll also have to pass the equally difficult test of prosperity.
For that, let me finish with the concept of high resolve. This is what Joseph developed early and carried through all his future stages, which ultimately made him so successful.
“Then his thoughts turned to his father’s God … Joseph believed that the God of his fathers would be his God. He then and there gave himself fully to the Lord, and he prayed that the Keeper of Israel would be with him in the land of his exile. His soul thrilled with the high resolve to prove himself true to God—under all circumstances to act as became a subject of the King of heaven. He would serve the Lord with undivided heart; he would meet the trials of his lot with fortitude and perform every duty with fidelity. One day’s experience had been the turning point in Joseph’s life. Its terrible calamity had transformed him from a petted child to a man, thoughtful, courageous, and self-possessed” (Pages 213-214).
Sold as a slave hours ago, by his own brothers, Joseph resolved to be true, whatever the circumstances. And that, in the final analysis, proves solidifying.
Whether slaves of the circumstances or even the stage we find ourselves in, and whether they are difficult situations or prosperous situations, our trust in Him, and our high resolve should be constant.
