LEADERSHIP TRAIT: INTENTIONALITY
Acts 18:11, “And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.”
In chapter 18 of Acts, the Apostle Paul has arrived in Corinth, which was one of the political and commercial centers of Greece at that time. Like most cities today, Corinth had a mixture of good and high moral individuals as well as immoral and corrupt individuals. So as Paul was teaching the Good News of Jesus to the people of Corinth, there were people who were very receptive to what he was sharing and others who rejected his teaching, even to the point of insulting him.
Like you and me, Paul had his good days and his bad days as he interacted with others. Verse 9 tells us, “And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent.’” Paul was obedient to this command and stayed in Corinth for a year and six months, teaching the word of God, as verse 11 mentions.
However, it was not an easy eighteen months. There were days of frustration as some people rejected Paul’s teaching. Even though Paul was being obedient and doing his job, he must have felt some- times like he was swimming upstream. Plus, there was the frustration of waiting for God to reveal his next assignment.
I know one of the hardest things in my life is waiting for what will happen next. When will I get the job? When will they call me back? Why is it taking so long?
While I am waiting and wondering for the next development, I can start to get frustrated. Frustrated that I am not hearing anything about new steps to take. This then leads to feeling anxious about whether I am even in the right place or doing the right thing. What if I didn’t hear God’s signal and should have already moved on? All of these worries can sometimes move me into a place of slothfulness as I feel discouraged and wonder if my goal is even worth pursuing anymore. It’s almost as if I’m thinking, Fine, if it isn’t going to happen, then I will just sit here.
