Being a Christian leader is a never-ending journey of learning to trust God more and more. Not just with our personal lives but even with the lives of those He’s entrusted us to steward.

But as a leader, it’s easy to get into superhero mode where you’re desperately trying to keep everything and everyone together.

As human beings, we tend to gravitate towards that which is tangible and within reach. While God can be both these things, there are seasons of life we go through that make His presence seem just beyond our grasp. And when people are in such a season, it’s all too easy for them to substitute the presence of God with the presence of a leader.

If you’re the one who everyone comes to for help, advice, support, prayer, etc, you can easily end up donning a cape that God didn’t necessarily intend you to wear. And the more they cast you in the role of ever-present superhero, the more you start to think that it’s your job to save them.

It’s not. 

There is only one saviour of mankind and His name is Jesus. Our role is to point people to Him so that He may draw them close and give them that which only He can. 

Ministry is hard. So is leadership. But what makes it impossible for so many of us is when we take on battles, loads and roles that were never ours to carry. 

We have to learn how to say no to being superheros. 

Yes, there will be people in their frustration and desperation who plead, insist and even demand that we fulfill such a role in their life. 

But we have to learn how to say no. 

There are times when the best way to love a person and to lead them is to say no. To draw up boundaries in how you relate with one another. To speak up and address what’s not working. To lay down conditions for a healthier way of handling things. 

Maybe they’ll take it in good stride and understand. Maybe they’ll think of you less. Whatever the outcome, we have to content in what God has called us to be and to do. Not what people think we ought to. 

We can only ever do our best. The rest, including how people turn out, how situations turn out, is up to Him…and them. 

Whatever situations and people come to mind as you read this, place in God’s hands. 

And just as importantly, leave them there. 

That’s where they belong. 

It’s the best place in the universe they could possibly be.