*This post is based on John Maxwell’s leadership devotional book entitled A Leader’s Heart.
If you would like to follow along, you can purchase this book by Clicking Here.
(This is a paid link, but it will not increase the book price). Thank you for being part of this leadership journey with us!*
Read: In Your Footsteps (Page 4)
A leader reproduces what they are, not what they want. From today’s reading we see that, because David had a lot of problems, he attracted people with a lot of problems. Eventually he was able to make giant killers out of them. He didn’t waste time complaining about their initial state, he started working to help them become what they could be. No doubt he was just thankful to have people who were on his side.
When a leader starts to get better through their own development, they will then attract better kinds of people to them. Sometimes, those better people come from the outside and sometimes those “better” people are the same ones who were already there, you just led them to become the better people you needed.
At this time in David’s life, no one better was going to come to him from the outside. So, he had to develop the ones he already had into those better people that he needed. And that’s exactly what he did! When this happens, people go from being discontent to having a purpose. When you are able to help them to this level, they bring their faithfulness with them.
You can then go on to fight and win many battles together because you have learned to trust each other. The best thing is when someone you developed goes on to do greater things than you. This was the case with those in our reading today. Some of these men went on to win greater battles than we read of David winning, although he would be the next king.
At first, David attracted men who were just like him. As he developed, he was able to help develop them until eventually they became a team that could not be stopped!
It matters in whose footsteps we follow!
Assignment: Discuss (comment below) how you have learned to follow in the leadership development footsteps of others. Discuss (comment below) how you would like others to follow in your leadership development footsteps.
Next Level Living 