“But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them. And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.
Mark 13:9-11 ESV
If you are in a position where you have to lead people, then you should rest assured that you will face trials. I’m talking to anybody that leads a household, a team, a business, a department, or a company. Jesus was was sure that when his disciples would be followed by people for sharing their testimony, they were going to face trials. Indeed, his twelve disciples did face trials. All but one died early, and the one that lived a long life was persecuted, exiled, and once even boiled alive.
Here’s the problem with trials, even with Jesus’ assurance that they will come: we worry. We worry about outcomes and situations that we can’t control and try to develop plans and methods to circumvent situations out of our control in order to control them. (If you want to read about how trials result in our personal character development, I recommend my short devotional titled, “Difficult Character Development“).
The truth of the matter is that a lot of things that we worry about in regards to the trials we face never become realized.
If trials are inevitable as a leader of people, then what can we do to minimize the anxiety that comes with being tried?
I have one truth about trials and two tactics we can employ as leaders when faced with trials based on this lesson Jesus shares with his disciples.
Truth: Trials are opportunities for you to testify about your faith
Jesus says it so plainly, “And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations…” That is the reason you and I will face trials. They are opportunities for us to share our faith with people who would otherwise not have the opportunity to hear about why we believe what we believe. Jesus says that governors and kings will hear the gospel because his disciples will face trials.
If you’re looking for an opportunity to share the gospel, then in the middle of a trial is the best time to share your faith with other people. People who share their faith in the midst of their hurt and pain will undoubtedly reach people who are facing or have faced that same trial. This will encourage those who walked through the trial before you, but moreover, there is an audience that needs to hear what you have to say because they haven’t faced the trial you faced yet. When they do face it, your testimony will be ready for them.
This is your opportunity to share your faith in Jesus Christ. That is the truth of why you are facing trials. You have story only you can tell as you go through the trial. It doesn’t matter what that trial is: broken relationships, loss of income, death, sickness, etc. Now two tactics to help you navigate through the trial below.
Tactic 1: Honestly speak about the trial you are facing
I love what Jesus says here, “…say whatever is given you in that hour…” Let me tell you how that translates in plain speak: be honest and raw in the moment. If the situation is difficult, then there is no reason to minimize it. If the situation hurts, share your hurt. If the situation is confusing, share your confusion.
Leaders, I want you to know that your honesty will never bite you in the butt in the long run. Yes, you may feel vulnerable or inadequate when sharing your honesty initially; but, people will respect you for your honesty. There is something to be said about a leader who is willing to be transparent at his or her own expense.
Being honest about a trial may even allow other people to speak into the trial to give you an idea or spark your imagination to try something you would never have thought of on your own. If you’re not being honest with people about the trial you are facing, how else do you expect to receive help or even have a space to dialogue with others to get your creativity going on how you can tackle the trial?
When you face trials, be honest. It’s your best bet when you’re immediately responding to it.
Tactic 2: Be confident in how God will use you through the trial
Jesus gives us our second tactic to employ when we are faced with trial by saying, “for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.” If the truth is that a trial is an opportunity for you to share the gospel, and you’re being honest with the people around you, you need to be confident in the fact that God will use you through the trial. After all, it was God who allowed you to face that trial in the first place. He will get you out. He will give you the words to express yourself and his glory.
Many of us leaders lose confidence when we face a trial because we think we were inadequate and therefore the root cause of the trial that we couldn’t control. But the truth is that we are leaders in positions facing trials because we are the people who need to be in those positions facing those trials because nobody else was built like we were to lead in a moment of trial. God made sure to prepare us for it. He gave us faith in Jesus and when Jesus ascended, we received the Holy Spirit. If the Spirit of God can’t get us out of a trial, then who really can?
Be confident, God will use this trial to glorify himself through you, and that’s the best outcome you can expect.
Prayer
Father in heaven, we are facing a tough economic and social trial in our lives right now. Let us use this opportunity to speak up and out for the good news of your son, Jesus and his love for me. I ask that as we face trials that we can’t control or comprehend, that you allow us to be honest and place all our trust in you. We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.
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