Leadership Suffering
"We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."(Romans 5:3-5 ESV)
To be exemplary leaders, we must be tested. We don’t get a free pass. We have to earn every second of every minute to stand up and stand out as leaders. Every new level of leadership requires increasing our threshold of pain. No pain, no gain. New level, new devil. The higher we go, the harder it gets. With every advance, comes greater opposition. All gold standard leaders must be refined in the furnace of suffering.
We don’t like to talk about suffering. In fact, we do everything we can to avoid the subject altogether because of the discomfort it connotes. It stirs up the pain of our past and the fears of our future. Yet, we wouldn’t be the strong leaders we are today without the resistance training we’ve experienced along the way. To be a leader of any tier of significance, we will be well acquainted with the struggle. This is the path of every true leader.
The stories of leadership suffrage are inscribed all throughout the pages of the Bible. These real life accounts vividly teach us that difficulties and hardships cause us to lean hard on the Lord, pray more sincerely, and not to think of ourselves more highly than we should. We need adversity in our life more than we realize. My Father called it the University of Hard Knocks. Often, we have to take the test first, and learn the lessons later.
“It’s much easier to teach leadership than it is to actually lead. Many leaders are trained in the classroom, but few are developed in the clash room.” (Taken from my book Leader Slips - Learning and Leading from Failure, 2019. p.15)
God promises to supply all our needs (Philippians 4:19). We love this promise when we think of it in terms of His provision, resources, connections, opportunities, open doors, and favor. However, supplying our needs doesn’t only mean having enough provision to pay the bills or to buy the things we want in life. Our needs also include the faces, places, and spaces that refine and produce authenticity in our leadership.
We actually need trials in our leadership. It’s the testing of our faith that produces the necessary patience that we must possess (James 1:3-4). We all need people in our lives that don’t celebrate us, respect us, or even like us. We all need a few heels to keep us real and some haters to make us greater. We all need the grit and the grind to smooth off the rough edges of our character and the course surfaces of our leadership.
According to our passage in Romans, there are five ways to process pain and suffering in leadership.
Rejoice in our sufferings.
Our first response in suffering should be to worship. God deserves our praise no matter what. David cried, “I will bless the Lord at all times.” Did you know that he wrote this hymn of praise while on the run as a fugitive in the cave of Adullam? (1 Samuel 22) It’s the pits of our lives that birth the greatest praise in our lives. We must remain steadfast through trials (James 1:2). It is producing lasting spiritual fruit in our leadership.
Suffering produces endurance
God’s love defines us, but it’s His fire that refines us. Paul tells us to endure as a good soldier (2 Timothy 2:3-5). Warriors don’t whine, they win. We need to toughen up and act like the leaders that we are. People don’t follow weakness, they follow meekness. Meekness isn’t weakness; it’s strength under reserve. There is more in you than you know. Don’t back down. Face the opposition, and march into the battle as a valiant solider.
Endurance produces character
None of us are as good as we imagine. Tough times reveal character flaws that must be dealt with. When I was a younger chap, I used to think I was a pretty solid person. It was only after being married for a short time that I soon discovered the kinks in my armor (See 1 Corinthians 7:14). We need people in our lives to challenge our integrity. At first, it may reveal our weaknesses, but eventually, the test will bring out our best
There is no shame in suffering.
Don’t be ashamed if you’re suffering. All great leaders have stood in the crucible. Often, we don’t suffer because of what we’ve done wrong, but because of what we’ve done right. Standing your ground when you make a decision will bring the worst out of some people, and you may have to suffer through it. Know you are not alone. Draw on the power of God’s grace to strengthen your resolve to press forward (1 Corinthians 9:8).
Suffering has a hopeful end.
Psalms 30:5 promises that sorrow will only last a short time. A hopeful end is on the way. Just as we are feeling the agony of battle, so we also will know the exhilaration of glory. Be encouraged leader! 1 Peter 5:10 MSG says, “Suffering won't last forever. It won't be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ – eternal and glorious plans they are! – will have you put together and on your feet for good.”
