“Who among you of all His people? May his God be with him and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (He is God), which is by Jerusalem. And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.
Ezra 1:3, 4
God called Cyrus, King of Persia to build His house in Jerusalem. King Cyrus called the people of Israel to the task. This is a sovereign move of God to fulfill the word of the Lord through Jeremiah that the Israelites would be in captivity for seventy years and then return once again to the Holy Land. Things were about to change.
Cyrus was a brilliant man who understood leadership. First of all, he understood it was God who had called him to build His house. Secondly, he had both the vision and the plan. The vision was cast to the Israelites to go back to their homeland and rebuild the house of God. But he understood that the people had been there for nearly 70 years and some, comfortable with their lives, would not want to return, so he called them to support those who would hear the call and go.
Your vision must come from God. If it is from God it most likely will be bigger than you alone. You will need others to help fulfill it. Don’t look for those who are comfortable to do the work, but look for those who have a holy dissatisfaction with the way things are and respond to the vision. It will not take much convincing to get those with a ‘holy dissatisfaction’ to go or to do. Both groups, those who will go and those who will stay need encouragement. For those willing to go assure them that God is with them and lay out the plan. For those who want to stay encourage them that they are needed for the vision to be fulfilled through their support. The key to leadership is understanding people and choosing the right people for the right job. Cyrus did not discount anyone but encouraged all to participate in the vision in one way or another. Some go, some stay, but all are needed for the vision to be accomplished.
What has God called you to do? How will you lead and inspire others to help fulfill the task? How will you identify those who are called to go and those called to stay?
