It Is Well Leadership

As leaders, we have so much pressure placed on us. We’re required to increase profits, maintain staff, and keep things chugging along at a healthy rate.

But what happens if we don’t? What happens to the way we think, feel, or even act?

I recently heard pastor Peter Reeves speak to a group of students at Michigan Youth Convention about his ministry. He said something that shocked those in attendance. They weren’t expecting him to say it. Yet, it’s something that resonated with me. His words also spoke to the students. They understood what he was saying. 

What did Peter Reeves say?

Whether his ministry grows or doesn’t, it is well.

In 1871, Horatio Spafford lost most of his business in the Great Chicago Fire. Then, in 1873, his son died from pneumonia. Following that, all four of his daughters drowned when the SS Ville du Havre hit another ship and sank. The only survivor of this tragedy was his wife, Anna. Anna sent a message to her husband saying:

Saved alone.

On a later trip, Spafford wrote the hymn It Is Well as he was thinking about his daughters. He discovers the place where he wrote the hymn was the spot where his daughters had passed away.

It Is Well Leadership

Why did I share those two stories? Because they’re impactful. 

The second one shows that no matter what, we can be okay no matter what happens to us in our lives. Whether it is the loss of loved ones, our jobs being eliminated, or even difficulties at the workplace. We can still say it is well with my soul.

The first is more contemporary. This story helps us understand it’s not the size of our ministry, organization, or wallet that matters. I’m not saying those things aren’t important. However, there’s something more important than those things.

When we take on the posture of “it is well” regarding our work, we place the trust of our organizational growth not in man’s hands but in God’s hands. We have to be okay with fast growth, slow growth, and no growth. 

I know this is countercultural. I know this is hard to hear. I know some of you may have been let go because of a lack of growth.

It hurts. It stings. It makes us think that we’re not good enough. 

But that’s not true. 

Loss, slow growth, and pain come for all of us. Even as we strive to lead our organizations ethically, morally, and with good spirits. 

Sometimes, those things don’t come to fruition. We are placed into an organization that will continue to experience slow growth for an extended period of time. Maybe it will never see extraordinary growth. 

Imagine being able to say, “It is well.” 

You’ve grown in your faith to the point you’re able to understand you can’t move the needle on things. It’s the work of the one above. He’s the one who gives and takes away. He’s the one who guides our steps.

Is it time for you to say, “It is well?”

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