Inspiration

"When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like a rush of a mighty wind, and it filled the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."  (Acts 2:1-4)            Image courtesy of www.redbubble.com

In their classic of management literature (Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It), Kouzes and Posner cite three critical traits for developing leadership credibility: honesty, competence, and the ability to inspire. Of these three, the most daunting always seems to me to be the third one -- the ability to inspire others. That one seems to be the most outside my control. And just who am I to think that I could influence or move some one else emotionally or spiritually anyway?

When such fears and doubts arise, I often find myself coming back to this passage, which shows the arrival of the Holy Spirit to the apostles after Christ's death. Just like other leaders, the apostles had big work to do; they surely had their doubts; they knew there would be significant opposition along their journey. But they were not alone. Jesus had told them: "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever." (John 14:16).

And now we have this same advocate, the Holy Spirit, if we simply ask for His help.

But how do we best prepare ourselves to make the most of His assistance?

D.L. Moody, 19th century evangelist and founder of the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, wrote one of the more convicting passages I have ever encountered regarding the process for being filled by the Spirit so that we can do inspiring work with and for others:

"I firmly believe that the moment our hearts are emptied of selfishness and ambition and self-seeking and everything that is contrary to God’s law, the Holy Spirit will come and fill every corner of our hearts; but if we are full of pride and conceit, ambition and self-seeking, pleasure and the world, there is no room for the Spirit of God. I also believe that many a man is praying to God to fill him, when he is full already with something else. Before we pray that God would fill us, I believe we ought to pray that He would empty us. There must be an emptying before there can be a filling; and when the heart is turned upside down, and everything that is contrary to God is turned out, then the Spirit will come….”

It can be very disconcerting for leaders, so deep in our convictions, to let go of so much that we have clung to for so long. But Moody reminds us -- exhorts us through his simple logic -- to come to grips that letting go first is the only way.  This is the pilgrim's journey. This is how we become His instrument. This is how we truly are filled with the stuff that moves men and women to levels of inspiration and action trandscending human limits.

Therefore, Moody's conviction remains: Can we empty ourselves of our own hang-ups and limitations so that we can be filled with the boundless possibilities of the Almighty?

That may be our biggest leadership and personal challenge of this day -- and of every day!
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Dear Lord,
Thank you for Your many gifts in my life.  Among those, thank you for sending an advocate, the Holy Spirit, to those who ask for His help.  To this end, help me to empty myself of myself so that I may be filled with Your Spirit and, in so doing, can fully play my part in serving, with others, Your children in ways that transcend human limitations, until one day when we are all called home with You.
In Your name, I pray.  Amen.