When you fall

"When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong Because the LORD is the One who holds his hand." Psalm 37:24

I love the reminder today of WHEN we fall, because we certainly will and do. For those who follow Christ, we are promised we will fall, but we will not fall too far as God holds our hand.

My two year old has been walking for a little while, but from time to time she attempts running. She can only go so far at a certain speed before she falls. I will hold her hand often while she walks and runs. She does fall, and WHEN she does, it is never too far. I have a hold of her hand.

In verse 39, the Psalmist writes, "[God] is their strength in time of trouble."

In your life, there WILL be trouble. God does not take trouble away. He is strength IN times of trouble. He will be the hand to hold you in times of trouble. He will not let you fall too far, but fall you will. Find strength only God can be and give to you in those times.

Freedom in Failure

I met with one of my RAs, and he said, "I have felt a lot lately like I have been letting everyone down."

I asked him how it was he thought or felt like he was letting me down.  He said he just felt like he was failing at stuff.

"Maybe I shouldn't be doing this, I think!"

"Now THAT would let me down, " I said.

I continued to let my RA know he has not let me down, and the reason is because I expect him to fail.  He will make plenty of mistakes and poor choices as an RA, and I expect him to do so.  I told him that by knowing this, he will now be a better RA.

My walk with Christ soared once I realized God expected me to fail.  Why?  Because him expecting me to fail means he does NOT expect me to be perfect.  Now THAT is good news.

There is freedom in knowing God expects me to fail and loves me despite my mistakes and trips. There is freedom because now I can take more risks.  I can go after my faith without abandon or fear.  I no longer have to maintain the perfect Christian facade.  I can now dive into my faith head first.

"But you still make mistakes!"

Yes, I certainly will, and those mistakes will go challenged.  Each poor choice, mistake and failure will come with its fair share of conviction and consequence. There will be these mistakes that come along, but God expects those and loves me despite them.

Brennan Manning writes, "God expects more failure out of you than you do."

Today, I have realized how freeing that really is.  So my RA could face confrontation when it happens knowing I expect him to fail from time to time and learn from them instead of obsessively side-stepping them. He can go all out and be willing to take risks that some choices may go wrong, but that's okay.  He does not have to be perfect or the best RA ever.  I don't expect him to be.

I told him, "You won't let me down by failing.  The only way you will let me down is if you give up."

I believe God expects more failure out of us than we do.  So we don't let God down when we fail, make mistakes or ask questions.  I think we let God down when we just give up, because when we give up we aren't even willing to fail.

Where's the faith and trust and risk in that?

Review of "Derailed" by Tim Irwin

Derailed by Tim Irwin is the vaccination every leader needs but rarely gets, and the reason it is so rare is because it stings a bit. Irwin takes traces of common factors of decline for leaders of large and recognizable corporations and forms a powerful vaccination sure to immunize you from your own downfall as a leader.

The overall intention of this book is clear. It reveals certain vulnerabilities if left unattended can and will lead to ‘derail’. Character is the impetus for everything we do, and Irwin is clear in stating that the greatest impact of our leadership can always be traced back to our character.

The first ingredient in this vaccination is 5 parts profile. The reader is given a glimpse of 6 high level leaders who have derailed due to a character flaw left unattended. These profiles are written to not only commiserate with each fallen leader, but to identify with one or more of them. You quickly discover where this book may be leading you once you read these profiles.

A quick explanation of derailment follows. There are 5 stages to the process of an eventual derailment: Failure of Self-/Other-Awareness, Pride Before the Fall, Missed Early Warning Signals, Rationalizing, and Derailment. It is revealed how if left ignored, these stages happen almost effortlessly.

Irwin develops 4 dimensions of character each leader, no matter the capacity, should develop and maintain: Authenticity, Self-Management, Humility, and Courage. The explanations of these dimensions are the alcohol swab before the injection.

Injection: the derailment factors to be aware of if your leadership lacks any of the aforementioned character dimensions. The healing vaccination Irwin provides in this book necessarily is applied with a sting.

The book is closed with a soothing band-aid in a description of the ways to stay on the track without derailing. You can still be a dynamic leader if you do not ignore the danger, face the sting, and move forward. Irwin closes this book with a great look at how this is accomplished.

I received this book for free in exchange for a review to be written for Thomas Nelson publishing, but knowing what I know now, I would have paid a good amount to gain the tools provided in the reading of it. No matter the capacity in which you lead, this book will serve you very well in forming a long-lasting leadership wherever you are. It is the vaccination every leader needs.