Daniel could have tried merely to survive his experience as a captive in a foreign land. Instead, he never left his disciplined life of character and personal commitment. Ponder the character he displayed during his times of testing under the kings of Babylon:

1. His Diet: He wouldn’t compromise on ritually unclean foods, but ate only vegetables.
2. His Motives: He didn’t take credit for interpreting dreams; instead, he glorified God.
3. His Honesty: He spoke the truth to authorities, regardless of its unpopularity.
4. His Disciplines: He continued praying daily, even though it might cost him his life.
5. His Integrity: He had no interest in bribes or payoffs.
6. His Convictions: He stayed committed to his friends and beliefs even as he rose through the ranks.

How a leader deals with the circumstances of life tells you many things about his character, but it certainly does reveal it. Adversity forces a person to choose between two paths: character or compromise. Every time a leader chooses character, he grows stronger. Character is the foundation on which a leader builds his or her life. It all begins with character, because leadership operates on trust. People will follow a leader only so far as they trust him or her. Character conveys credibility, earns respect, fosters consistency, and builds trust.

Every leader must know the following about character:

1. Character is more than talk. Anyone can say that he has integrity, but action is the real indicator of character. Your character determines who you are and what you do. That’s why you can never separate a leader’s character from his actions. If a leader’s actions and intentions continually work against each other, look to his character to find out why.
2. Talent is a gift, but character is a choice. We have no control over many things in life. We don’t get to choose our parents or the circumstances of our birth and upbringing. But we do choose our character. We create it each time we make choices.
3. Character brings lasting success with people. True leadership always involves others. Followers do not trust leaders whose character they know to be flawed, and they will not continue to follow them.
4. Leaders cannot rise above the limitations of their character. Character will either limit or support a leader, depending on its strength. It will always determine whether a leader finishes well.

It simply takes a decision to have character in leadership. Devotional of John Maxwell teaching.

Daniel 2:48 Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men.

By the time Solomon wrote these words, he had reached a high level of success – but still felt empty. He couldn’t put his finger on why fulfillment continued to escape him. Because he lacked focus, he searched high and low, experimenting with various goals, yet never found satisfaction. Sadly, he attempted to solve an inward problem with an outward solution.

The old axiom remains true: If you chase two rabbits, both will escape. This was certainly true of Solomon’s futile attempts to reach his varied goals. (He pursued eight goals in Ecclesiastes 2 alone!) So, what can we learn from this leader about focus?

1. He pursued too many things in too short a time.
2. He pursued the wrong goals to reach his desired outcome.
3. His self-serving goals were all wrong.
4. He despaired because he never identified what he really wanted.

A Checklist for Making Decisions

Solomon eventually did narrow his focus, but it took him a lifetime and an entire book to do so (see Eccl. 12). He finally determined what really mattered and what he really wanted.

How about you? Have you figured out your focus? How do you make major decisions? Do you have a way to determine your focus based on what really matters or what really counts? Consider the following checklist as you make decisions about where to invest your time and energy.

When faced with a decision, ask yourself:

1. Is this consistent with my priorities?
2. Is this within my area of competence?
3. Can someone else do it better?
4. What do my trusted friends say?
5. Do I have the time?

When you say “yes” to an opportunity, get ready to focus. Make to-do lists. Set your priorities. Avoid clutter. Pursue excellence, but avoid perfectionism. Question everything. Work to prevent procrastination. Control interruptions and distractions. Use the calendar. Narrow your wedge – don’t try to do everything. That means you’ll have to say no to some good things. And how can you say no gracefully?

1. Say no to the proposition, not to the person.
2. Respond in terms that convey the best interests of the person who’s requesting your involvement.
3. Defer creatively; suggest an alternative.

We can easily get caught up in the wrong things too fast, and it can be a spiral of never-ending. Find a way to stop and evaluate to realign the direction you need to go. Devotion of John Maxwell.

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. ² “Laughter,” I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?” ³ I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.

⁴ I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. ⁵ I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. ⁶ I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. ⁷ I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. ⁸ I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem^[a] as well—the delights of a man’s heart. ⁹ I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.

¹⁰ I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
    I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
    And this was the reward for all my toil.
¹¹ Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
    and what I had toiled to achieve,
Everything was meaningless, chasing after the wind.
    nothing was gained under the sun.

This godly leader took the initiative to pray for Jerusalem’s problems, to plan the rebuilding project, to persuade the people to act, and to pursue the product they all wanted. And he did it in that order. His initiative showed great insight.

Nehemiah couldn’t imagine sitting still when he heard the walls of Jerusalem lay in shambles. He had to act. Of all the things a leader should fear, complacency ought to head the list.

But what enables good leaders to initiate? Nehemiah demonstrates that leaders know something in their hearts or guts that prompts them to act. They don’t know everything, but they know enough to act. Nehemiah had insight into the following areas:

1. He knew how long the project would take (2:6). Nehemiah gave King Artaxerxes a definite time period for his absence.
2. He knew how to get there (2:7). Nehemiah asked for letters of permission to pass through the provinces beyond the river to Judah.
3. He knew what he would need to get the job done (2:8). Nehemiah requested timbers from Asaph to make beams and gates for the wall.
4. He knew that God’s hand was upon him (2:8). Nehemiah got all that he requested because the hand of God rested on him.

Qualities of Initiators

Nehemiah displayed the qualities that make for initiative in leaders:

1. They know what they want. Desire is the starting point of all achievement. Nehemiah knew that he wanted that wall up.
2. They push themselves to act. At first, Nehemiah acted alone. He pushed to get the facts that would move others.
3. They take more risks. Nehemiah took some major risks as he got permission to go, to get wood, and to survey the job.
4. They make more mistakes. Nehemiah wasn’t afraid to mobilize men who weren’t professional contractors or soldiers to build and fight.
5. They go with their gut. What Nehemiah lacked in experience, he made up for with the passion of his heart.

Devotion by John Maxwell.

Nehemiah 1:4-2:8

When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days, I mourned, fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven. ⁵ Then I said:

“Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, ⁶ let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. ⁷ We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees, and laws you gave your servant Moses.

⁸ “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, ⁹ but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’

¹⁰ “They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. ¹¹ Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”

I was cupbearer to the king.

Artaxerxes Sends Nehemiah to Jerusalem

2 In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, ² so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”

I was very much afraid, ³ but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”

⁴ The king said to me, “What is it you want?”

Then I prayed to the God of heaven, ⁵ and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”

⁶ Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me, so I set a time.

⁷ I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? ⁸ And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests.

Responsibility – “the ability to meet obligations; the act of being accountable; a duty of trust” – is one of the 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. It’s the ability to make and keep commitments.

When Jehoshaphat became king of Judah, he assumed a trust. Like all kings, he was to lead, protect, and manage the nation’s resources. Second Chronicles 20 records his greatest challenge to that point in his leadership. An army from three countries laid plans to attack Judah. Reports of their activity frightened the king (2 Chr. 20:3). No doubt, he faced the same options we all face in a crisis: give up, back up, or stand up. At such times, we find out the quality of our leadership:

1. The dropouts: leaders who give up and fail to take responsibility.
2. The cop-outs: leaders who make excuses for why they aren’t responsible.
3. The hold-outs: leaders who waver too long to take responsibility.
4. The all-outs: leaders who own the responsibility and take action.

What Steps Did Jehoshaphat Take?

Second Chronicles 20 provides us with a beautiful story of a human leader who did what was right. Consider the appropriate steps he took:

1. He fought his fear (vv. 2,3). Jehoshaphat was terrified, but he didn’t let it paralyze him. He stayed calm enough to think.
2. He sought the Lord (vv. 3, 6-13). Before he did anything else, he sought perspective by praying and seeking wisdom from God.
3. He brought the synergy (vv. 3,4). He didn’t act alone, but gathered the people to inform them of the issue.
4. He caught the vision (vv. 14-17). He listened to the voice of the Lord until he knew what to do.
5. He bought the idea (vv. 18,19). He bowed his head and began to embrace the steps he and his nation had to take.
6. He taught the plan (vv. 20-23). He assembled the key players and gave them instructions on what each had to do.
7. He secured the victory (vv. 24, 25). He followed through with precision and succeeded, just as God predicted.

What quality of a leader are you?

It takes steps to be impactful for others. How can you apply this lesson of responsibility in your life?

If only the Israelites had remembered this lesson! Numbers 33 provides a review of the entire exodus journey, from Egypt to Jordan. And, boy, was it ever a journey! Tons of manna. Far too much grumbling. And it lasted 40 years.

Why didn’t the Israelites get to the Promised Land more quickly? Not because it lay so far away; they could have made the trip in two weeks. The real reason boils down to preparation. The people simply weren’t ready for God’s blessing until 40 years after they began their trip.

How about you? How is your self-discipline? Plato said, “The first and best victory is to conquer self.” If you want to be a leader with self-discipline, follow these action points:

1. Develop and follow your priorities. All leaders are pressed for time, but the successful ones have a plan. If you can determine what’s really a priority and release yourself from everything else, it will be much easier to follow through on what’s important. That’s the essence of self-discipline.
2. Make a disciplined lifestyle of your goal. To be successful, self-discipline can’t be a one-time event. It has to become a lifestyle. One of the best ways to nurture such a lifestyle is to develop systems and routines, especially in areas crucial to your long-term growth and success. Once you have them, put them to use every day for the rest of your life.
3. Challenge your excuses. Challenge and eliminate any tendency you may have to make excuses. If you can name several reason why you can’t be self-disciplined, realize that they are really just barriers to your success – all of which need to be challenged if you want to go to the next level.
4. Remove rewards until you finish the job. If you lack self-discipline, you may be in the habit of enjoying dessert before eating your vegetables. Mike Delaney offered good counsel: He said that businesses need to differentiate betwen their shirkers and their workers, because if they reward both the same, they’ll soon find they have a lot more of the former than the latter!
5. Stay focused on results. Anytime you concentrate on the difficulty of the work instead of its results, you’re likely to become discouraged. The next time you’re facing a must-do task and you’re thinking of doing what’s convenient instead of paying the price, change your focus. Count the benefits of doing what’s right, and then dive in.

What challenges force you to take action? Finding ways you are self-disciplined make a difference. Read Numbers 33:1-49 for the full picture of this story. Another thought of John Maxwell.

Here are the stages in the journey of the Israelites when they came out of Egypt by divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. ² At the Lord’s command Moses recorded the stages in their journey. This is their journey by stages:

³ The Israelites set out from Rameses on the fifteenth day of the first month, the day after the Passover. They marched out defiantly in full view of all the Egyptians, ⁴ who were burying all their firstborn, whom the Lord had struck down among them; for the Lord had brought judgment on their gods.

⁵ The Israelites left Rameses and camped at Sukkoth.

⁶ They left Sukkoth and camped at Etham, on the edge of the desert.

⁷ They left Etham, turned back to Pi Hahiroth, to the east of Baal Zephon, and camped near Migdol.

⁸ They left Pi Hahiroth^[a] and passed through the sea into the desert, and when they had traveled for three days in the Desert of Etham, they camped at Marah.

⁹ They left Marah and went to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there.

¹⁰ They left Elim and camped by the Red Sea.^[b]

¹¹ They left the Red Sea and camped in the Desert of Sin.

¹² They left the Desert of Sin and camped at Dophkah.

¹³ They left Dophkah and camped at Alush.

¹⁴ They left Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.

¹⁵ They left Rephidim and camped in the Desert of Sinai.

¹⁶ They left the Desert of Sinai and camped at Kibroth Hattaavah.

¹⁷ They left Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.

¹⁸ They left Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.

¹⁹ They left Rithmah and camped at Rimmon Perez.

²⁰ They left Rimmon Perez and camped at Libnah.

²¹ They left Libnah and camped at Rissah.

²² They left Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.

²³ They left Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.

²⁴ They left Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.

²⁵ They left Haradah and camped at Makheloth.

²⁶ They left Makheloth and camped at Tahath.

²⁷ They left Tahath and camped at Terah.

²⁸ They left Terah and camped at Mithkah.

²⁹ They left Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah.

³⁰ They left Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.

³¹ They left Moseroth and camped at Bene Jaakan.

³² They left Bene Jaakan and camped at Hor Haggidgad.

³³ They left Hor Haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah.

³⁴ They left Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.

³⁵ They left Abronah and camped at Ezion Geber.

³⁶ They left Ezion Geber and camped at Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin.

³⁷ They left Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the border of Edom. ³⁸ At the Lord’s command Aaron the priest went up Mount Hor, where he died on the first day of the fifth month of the fortieth year after the Israelites came out of Egypt. ³⁹ Aaron was a hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor.

⁴⁰ The Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev of Canaan, heard that the Israelites were coming.

⁴¹ They left Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.

⁴² They left Zalmonah and camped at Punon.

⁴³ They left Punon and camped at Oboth.

⁴⁴ They left Oboth and camped at Iye Abarim, on the border of Moab.

⁴⁵ They left Iye Abarim and camped at Dibon Gad.

⁴⁶ They left Dibon Gad and camped at Almon Diblathaim.

⁴⁷ They left Almon Diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, near Nebo.

⁴⁸ They left the mountains of Abarim and camped on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho. ⁴⁹ There on the plains of Moab they camped along the Jordan from Beth Jeshimoth to Abel Shittim.