Let me tell you a quick story about the nation of Israel. There was a time they asked God for a king, a leader. Even though God was not pleased with their request, He went ahead to give them the kind of leader they deserved; “And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots….” (1 Samuel 8:11-22).
Friend, you will get the kind of leader you deserve, not the one you are praying for. As much as we need to desire the best kind of leaders for our nation, we must ensure that we become the right kind of people. The crop of leaders up there would not be different from the crop of people in the general populace. God gave the Israelites Saul because he was who they deserved (1 Samuel 8:6-8).
You will get the kind of pastor, husband, boss etc. you deserve, not the one you desire. This is why you must let your desire match your attitude and disposition. You must become what you are praying for or expecting. Any prayer that does not first change you cannot change your situation (2 Corinthians 3:18). When you become the right person, you would attract the right people and things.
If you are a crook, you would have a crook as your leader. If you are greedy, you would have political leaders who would buy your conscience with money. If you are a person of integrity, you would put men of corrupt character to check. I believe strongly that our problem in Africa is not entirely a leadership problem, it is also a followership problem. We must stop attempting to change the nation from the top alone, let us go back to the grassroot; the home, the schools, the churches etc.
Sometimes, it can be very overwhelming when we look at the myriads of problems facing our nation and how seemingly inconsequential a few people can be; but that’s where change begins. True change does not begin with the multitudes, it begins with some selected few, the remnant (Romans 11:4-5). It begins with people who would stand for God and integrity in their little corner (Daniel 1:8). If God can find people like that in various places, the change we desire will come speedily.
As you go into this season, I want you to start posturing yourself to attract the best of leaders. As a believer, if you love the truth, God will give you pastors after His own heart, who would feed you with truth (Jeremiah 3:15); if otherwise, you would have liars as prophets and priests (Jeremiah 5:31). If you want to marry a strong lady, be the stronger man. If you want to be governed by leaders of integrity, eliminate greed and crookedness from your own life. Don’t forget this; you will not attract what you desire but what you deserve. You will succeed!
© ‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria