{"id":73961,"date":"2021-10-18T15:52:56","date_gmt":"2021-10-18T21:52:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mesonaz.org\/?p=73961"},"modified":"2022-07-21T15:58:13","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T21:58:13","slug":"how-to-see-a-more-hopeful-future-despite-seemingly-relentless-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mesonaz.org\/en\/how-to-see-a-more-hopeful-future-despite-seemingly-relentless-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"How To See A More Hopeful Future Despite Seemingly Relentless Challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mesoamericaregion.us4.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=03e55b045b4b2d81fc3a5a85b&amp;id=95606ed81d&amp;e=1e0613ef18\"><strong>How To See A More Hopeful Future Despite Seemingly Relentless Challenges<\/strong><\/a><br \/>\nBy Dan Reiland<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s next?! A common question today amongst leaders. How do we lead with authentic hope when the future seems so cloudy? <em>You must first possess a positive outlook on the future before you can authentically lead with hope. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s be honest; that\u2019s not easy or automatic right now. We certainly have hope for the future because Christ is our hope, but that doesn\u2019t eliminate the number or size of challenges we face. Let\u2019s just say it. Leading today is difficult.<\/p>\n<p>We can be very hopeful about the future of the church; it\u2019s designed to do well against opposition, even when the opposition comes in the forms of apathy, division, and literal attack. But I\u2019ll admit it can be exhausting right now. You know, twice the effort for half the results \u2014 that kind of thing. Leading today is not for the faint of heart, but if you are passionate about your calling to see people know Jesus, you couldn\u2019t be leading at a better time.<\/p>\n<p>Leadership today calls for a set of characteristics like discipline, resilience, diligence, and joy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Which one of the above isn\u2019t like the others?<\/strong>\u00a0Joy. Right! Joy in the face of challenge is essential. Possessing joy doesn\u2019t indicate a clueless sense of happiness about life\u2019s obvious challenges; possessing joy is a choice. We have the ability to choose joy as we lead through significant difficulties.<\/p>\n<p><strong>6 Ways To See A More Hopeful Future<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1) Take ownership of your attitude.<\/strong><br \/>\nThe process of how you perceive what is outside starts inside. Therefore, your personal framework or disposition is greatly determined by how you process life internally.\u00a0The concept of your \u201cfirst thought\u201d is a strong indicator. When you face a difficult situation, what is your first thought?<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few examples:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cThis is going to be bad.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cWe\u2019ll figure it out!\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI knew this would happen!\u201d<\/li>\n<li>This is tough, but we\u2019ll find a good opportunity.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You need to be honest about reality, and no one\u00a0<em>likes<\/em>\u00a0huge problems, but if your first thought isn\u2019t optimistic toward a solution, you need to learn how to make that your second thought. Rose-colored glasses may not be the solution, but they are the right idea.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2) Be wise about who you listen to.<\/strong><br \/>\nThere is so much confusing and conflicting noise today; it is, therefore, important to be wise in your choices of who to listen to. It\u2019s good to expand your thinking and listen to people different than you, but when it comes to voices that are largely negative, critical, lack hope, or generate fear \u2013 love them, but don\u2019t listen in a way that takes it to heart.<\/p>\n<p>So if it\u2019s so difficult to discern truth, how can we know? We need a compass, a true north, which can only come from God\u2019s Word combined with the Holy Spirit. That\u2019s your filter. From there, you can prayerfully think through the issues you must lead through.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3) Ask God to increase the size of your faith.<\/strong><br \/>\nThe struggle with \u201cenough\u201d faith is not a new one. On more than one occasion, faith was an issue amongst the disciples. From Jesus being frustrated with their lack of faith to the apostles asking Jesus to \u2018increase our faith.\u201d (Luke 17:5)<\/p>\n<p>We also know it\u2019s not always how much faith (mustard seed), as it is understanding who our faith is in. When it comes to faith, it\u2019s not always simple to discern between trust and prudence, but we can\u2019t lead with a positive outlook about the future if we lack faith.<\/p>\n<p>So, where does the increase of faith begin, with you or God? Yes, with both. Do you want greater faith? (Especially for the future.) Start here \u2013 acknowledge a genuine desire for greater faith, ask God for it, and begin to live as if you have it. You don\u2019t need to take a leap of faith but take the next step.<\/p>\n<p>So what\u2019s your next step?<\/p>\n<p><strong>4) Get honest about the cost of leadership.<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen leading in crisis, chaos, or just daily confusion, a full measure of honesty is required about a price that must be paid. There is always a cost to leadership when leading in difficult times. Are you willing to pay the cost?<\/p>\n<p><em>Here\u2019s the big caution when it comes to the cost of leadership, we should never start naming the price for someone else to pay, which leads to judgmental legalism.\u00a0<\/em>Further, this is not an ascetic concept, we don\u2019t<em>\u00a0seek\u00a0<\/em>hardship through leadership, but we are prepared for it in whatever form it might present itself.<\/p>\n<p>How does this help cultivate a more positive outlook? Knowing there is a cost helps normalize it and prevents discouragement when its encountered.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5) Find opportunities in problems.<\/strong><br \/>\nSome people find a solution for every problem; others find a problem in every solution. Which one do you think has a more positive and faith-filled outlook on the future?\u00a0Every time you find a solution, even for a small problem, you train your mind and heart to believe there is a solution for every problem, no matter the size. That radically changes your outlook on the future. Rather than allowing life\u2019s tough challenges to impact you with overwhelming drama, chase the challenge like you are solving a puzzle.<\/p>\n<p>For you, finding a solution is not an option (you are going to solve the puzzle,) and seeing opportunities is a skill to develop. Seeking and producing solutions often leads to new and great opportunities.<\/p>\n<p><strong>6) Hold high standards for the team you gather around you.<\/strong><br \/>\nYour inner circle of staff, friends, advisors, coaches, etc., can make or break your ability to see and lead to a positive future. Choose them wisely. Whether your inner circle consists of three people or thirty doesn\u2019t matter as much as who they are and the value they add to your life and ministry. (And you, of course, add value to their lives as well.)<\/p>\n<p>A good inner circle:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Loves you and believes in you.<\/li>\n<li>Tells you the truth.<\/li>\n<li>Brings wisdom and discernment.<\/li>\n<li>Thinks big and has strong faith<\/li>\n<li>Will confront you if needed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The people closest to you either take you up or hold you back. They absolutely influence how you see and lead into the future.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 2021\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mesoamericaregion.us4.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=03e55b045b4b2d81fc3a5a85b&amp;id=5950871cd8&amp;e=1e0613ef18\">Dan Reiland<\/a>\u00a0| The Pastor&#8217;s Coach \u2013 Developing Church Leaders<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How To See A More Hopeful Future Despite Seemingly Relentless Challenges By Dan Reiland What\u2019s next?! A common question today amongst leaders. How do we lead with authentic hope when the future seems so cloudy? You must first possess a positive outlook on the future before you can authentically lead with hope. Let\u2019s be honest; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mesonaz.org\/en\/how-to-see-a-more-hopeful-future-despite-seemingly-relentless-challenges\/\"> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":73962,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3380,4661],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-leadership-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mesonaz.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mesonaz.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mesonaz.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mesonaz.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mesonaz.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73961"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.mesonaz.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73961\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mesonaz.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mesonaz.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mesonaz.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mesonaz.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}