History is filled with people who recognized their moment and stepped up.
We all experience moments in life that can be considered defining moments, times when something happens that changes the trajectory of our lives. Often, those moments arrive unexpectedly.
Without warning, we are faced with a decision. We can step forward or step back. We can act or remain silent. Sometimes, what we choose to do in that moment affects not only our future, but also the lives of those around us.
The question is not whether your moment will come.
The question is whether you will be ready to stand when it does.
WHEN THE MOMENT COMES
On a seemingly ordinary January day in 2009, U.S. Airways pilot Chesley Sullenberger boarded a plane just as he had done hundreds of times before. But Flight 1549 would become the flight that defined him.
Shortly after takeoff, birds struck both engines. With nowhere safe to land, Sullenberger brought the Airbus A320 down on the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 people aboard.
He had not boarded the plane that morning expecting to become a hero. Yet in a few terrifying minutes, years of preparation, experience, judgment, and courage converged in a single defining moment.
World War II gave us another unlikely hero.
Desmond Doss joined the U.S. Army, but his deeply held religious convictions prevented him from carrying a weapon. Some initially viewed him as someone who might become a burden in combat.
He proved them wrong.
During the Battle of Okinawa, Doss repeatedly entered areas under heavy enemy fire to rescue wounded soldiers and lower them to safety. He became one of the war's most celebrated heroes without firing a single shot.
The historical examples could fill volumes.
Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said:
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
Leadership is often revealed in exactly those kinds of moments.
Few biblical leaders demonstrate this more powerfully than David.
DAVID'S MOMENT ARRIVES
We continue to learn powerful leadership lessons from the life of the young future king, David.
David had already been anointed king, but apart from a brief period of service in Saul's court, he continued to live a largely obscure life.
He had been chosen, but he had not yet been elevated.
He had been anointed, but he was still waiting.
Until his day came.
Interestingly, David's defining moment began with a simple assignment from his father.
Jesse sent David to check on his older brothers who were serving in the army. Like any father whose children were in harm's way, Jesse was concerned for their safety. He sent David with provisions and a mission to discover how his sons were doing.
Neither Jesse nor David could have known that this ordinary assignment would forever change the trajectory of David's life.
There is a leadership lesson even in David's arrival at the battlefield.
Defining moments often begin with seemingly insignificant assignments.
David was not searching for a platform. He was not pursuing a title. He was not demanding an opportunity to prove himself.
He was simply being faithful with what his father had asked him to do.
But that ordinary assignment placed David exactly where he needed to be when his extraordinary moment arrived.
Sometimes the pathway to our greatest opportunity begins with simply being faithful where we are.
A GIANT STANDS IN THE WAY
When David arrived, his senses were immediately overwhelmed by the thunderous taunting of a Philistine giant named Goliath.
Goliath towered over the soldiers on both sides of the battlefield. The exact interpretation of his recorded height has been debated. He may have been approximately 9 feet 9 inches tall, or perhaps closer to 6 feet 9 inches. Either way, Goliath was an intimidating presence who stood noticeably taller than almost everyone else on the battlefield.
He served as the champion of the Philistine army, challenging Israel to send one man to face him in single combat. As representatives of their armies, the winner of this one-on-one battle would secure victory for his people.
The biblical account leaves no doubt about either Goliath's arrogance or Israel's fear.
1 Samuel 17
8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” 11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified… 16 For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand…. 16 For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.
For forty days, Goliath stood.
For forty days, Goliath taunted.
For forty days, the army of Israel backed away in fear.
Morning after morning. Evening after evening.
The challenge remained, but no one stepped forward.
Goliath mocked Israel's soldiers, Israel's army, and ultimately Israel's God. The soldiers heard his threats every day, yet fear had paralyzed them.
That is what fear can do.
Fear can cause capable people to question their abilities. Fear can cause experienced leaders to remain silent. Fear can convince an entire organization that an intimidating obstacle is an impossible obstacle.
Everyone in Israel's army saw the same giant.
Everyone heard the same taunts.
Everyone faced the same problem.
But David saw the situation differently.
SOMEONE HAD TO STAND
David's heart burned when he heard Goliath dishonoring God.
The soldiers saw an unbeatable warrior.
David saw a man defying the living God.
The soldiers saw Goliath's size.
David saw God's greatness.
The soldiers asked, What happens if someone fights him and loses?
David essentially asked, How can we allow this to continue?
His response is recorded in 1 Samuel 17:
26 David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
Thus began David's defining moment.
Someone had to step forward.
Someone had to confront what everyone else feared.
Someone had to believe that the obstacle standing before them was not greater than the God standing with them.
Someone had to stand.
And David decided that someone would be him.
His bold questioning and outspoken determination eventually reached King Saul.
Saul saw what everyone else saw: a young, inexperienced shepherd proposing to fight a seasoned warrior.
His conclusion seemed logical.
David could not win.
33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”
34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”
There is a powerful leadership truth hidden inside David's response.
David's defining moment may have appeared suddenly, but David had been preparing for it long before it arrived.
The lion mattered.
The bear mattered.
The lonely days caring for sheep mattered.
The responsibility mattered.
The obscurity mattered.
The victories no one celebrated mattered.
David had learned courage when no crowd was watching. He had learned responsibility when the only thing depending on him was a flock of sheep. He had learned to trust God before anyone knew his name.
Now those private experiences were preparing him for a very public moment.
This is one of the great realities of leadership:
Your moment may arrive suddenly, but your preparation for that moment rarely does.
The difficult assignment you face today may be preparing you for tomorrow.
The responsibility that seems beneath you may be developing something within you.
The challenge nobody notices may be strengthening your character.
The season when you feel overlooked may actually be the season when God is preparing you most.
David's years in obscurity were not wasted years.
They were preparation years.
The shepherd's field had prepared him for the battlefield.
The lion and the bear had prepared him for the giant.
And now the moment had arrived.
David stepped forward.
He walked onto the battlefield.
He stood before the giant everyone else feared.
And when Goliath moved toward him, David did something extraordinary.
David did not back away.
He ran toward the battle.
DAVID STANDS BEFORE THE GIANT
David's confidence was not in his size, strength, experience, or weaponry. His confidence rested in the God who had been faithful to him before.
Standing before Goliath, David boldly declared:
5 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.
With a loud thud, Goliath hit the ground.
The giant who had terrorized an entire army for forty days was defeated.
The army of Israel surged forward and routed the Philistine army. David's victory over Goliath became a defining moment in his life and began his steady ascent toward becoming the leader he had been anointed to be.
But David did more that day than defeat a giant.
David stood when others would not.
He recognized his moment. He believed God. And he stepped forward.
There are powerful lessons in David's experience for every emerging leader today.
LEADERSHIP LESSONS FOR TODAY
LESSON ONE: SOMETIMES A LEADER MUST STAND
Waiting in the wings is difficult.
Holding your tongue can be painful.
Watching others struggle while knowing you have something to contribute can test your patience.
There is certainly a time to wait. There is a time to listen, learn, prepare, and follow.
But there is also a time to stand.
David could have remained with his brothers. He could have listened to Goliath and reacted exactly as everyone else did. After all, he was young. He had no military rank. He had no battlefield experience. No one was asking him to become Israel's champion.
Everything around him seemed to say, This is not your place.
Something within David said otherwise.
He recognized that a moment had arrived when somebody needed to step forward.
Leadership frequently works that way.
There comes a moment when preparation must become action.
There comes a moment when conviction must become courage.
There comes a moment when thinking about what should be done must become actually doing it.
And when that moment arrives, a leader must stand.
Perhaps your moment is approaching.
The turning in your stomach, the racing of your mind, and the restlessness of your heart may be telling you that something needs to change. You see an opportunity others have overlooked. You recognize a problem everyone else has learned to tolerate. You feel compelled to address a need that continues to go unmet.
Don't automatically dismiss that restlessness.
Ask yourself:
What step do I need to take?
What leadership responsibility am I being prepared to assume?
What problem am I uniquely equipped to address?
What need is in front of me that I can no longer expect someone else to meet?
There will always be reasons to wait.
There will always be reasons to question whether you are ready.
There will always be someone more experienced, more credentialed, or more obvious.
But leadership is not merely about possessing a position.
Sometimes leadership begins when someone simply looks at what needs to be done and says:
"I'll stand."
History is shaped by moments like these.
As Marsha P. Johnson observed:
“History isn't something you look back at and say it was inevitable, it happens because people make decisions that are sometimes very impulsive and of the moment, but those moments are cumulative realities.”
Your defining moment may not announce itself.
There may be no spotlight.
There may be no applause.
There may simply be a need, an opportunity, and a decision.
When your moment comes, stand.
LESSON TWO: AN EMERGING LEADER MUST IGNORE THE CRITICS
Someone stepping forward to lead may mistakenly believe that everyone around them will celebrate their initiative.
That is rarely the case.
When David began to speak boldly about confronting Goliath, his brothers did not applaud him.
They criticized him.
His willingness to stand exposed their unwillingness to do the same.
Sometimes your courage will make other people uncomfortable because it reminds them of the action they have chosen not to take.
Not everyone will understand your motivation.
Not everyone will believe in your vision.
Not everyone will celebrate your growth.
And not everyone will be comfortable when the person they remember as inexperienced begins demonstrating leadership.
Emerging leaders must learn how to hear criticism without becoming controlled by it.
That does not mean ignoring wise counsel.
A good leader listens.
A good leader remains teachable.
A good leader understands that criticism sometimes reveals blind spots that need attention.
Humility requires us to ask whether our critics see something we do not.
But there is an important difference between receiving counsel and surrendering your calling to your critics.
David listened, but he did not allow the criticism of his brothers to determine his actions.
Neither should you.
Some people will remember who you were and have difficulty accepting who you are becoming.
Others may misunderstand your confidence as arrogance.
Still others may question whether you have earned the opportunity to lead.
Listen carefully.
Remain humble.
Show respect.
Learn from legitimate criticism.
But when you know that it is time to step forward:
Step forward anyway.
An emerging leader cannot allow the loudest critic in the room to become the strongest influence in the room.
Sometimes leadership requires the courage not only to face the giant in front of you, but also to move beyond the voices behind you.
LESSON THREE: STAND IN YOUR ARMOR
Before David confronted Goliath, King Saul attempted to outfit him with his own armor.
It made perfect sense.
If David was going to fight a warrior, he should look like a warrior.
There was only one problem.
Saul's armor did not fit David.
It was not his.
David had not trained in it and could not fight effectively while wearing it.
So he took it off.
That decision contains an important lesson for every developing leader:
You cannot become the leader you were created to be by continually trying to become somebody else.
We all enter leadership situations that have been shaped by other people.
We have leaders we respect.
Mentors influence us.
Organizations have cultures and expectations.
Teams establish patterns for how work gets done.
Books, conferences, podcasts, and leadership programs expose us to successful people whose methods we admire.
Learn from them.
Study them.
Allow them to challenge you.
But don't become them.
Leadership is not imitation.
The objective is not to become a copy of your favorite leader. The objective is to learn from others while developing the gifts, experiences, personality, convictions, and abilities that have been entrusted to you.
David did not defeat Goliath by becoming Saul.
David defeated Goliath by being David.
He used what he knew.
He carried what he had practiced with.
He trusted the God he had already experienced.
He stepped onto the battlefield as himself.
You must learn to do the same.
As much as possible, fight in your own armor.
Your leadership voice may be different from the person who came before you.
Your approach to relationships may be different.
Your communication style may be different.
Your strengths may be different.
Your passion may be different.
Your path certainly will be different.
That is not necessarily a weakness.
It may be precisely what makes your leadership necessary.
You do not have to become somebody else before you are qualified to make a difference.
Become the strongest, healthiest, most authentic version of the leader you were created to be.
YOUR MOMENT MAY BE CLOSER THAN YOU THINK
David's journey that morning probably felt ordinary.
He was delivering supplies.
Checking on his brothers.
Following his father's instructions.
Nothing about the assignment announced:
Today will change your life.
Yet before the day was over, David had faced a giant, inspired an army, altered the course of a battle, and taken another major step toward the destiny for which he had already been anointed.
That is the nature of defining moments.
We rarely know they are defining moments when they begin.
A conversation may become an opportunity.
A challenge may reveal a calling.
A problem may become your invitation to lead.
An ordinary assignment may place you precisely where you need to be.
The moment does not always arrive with a title.
It does not always arrive with permission.
And it certainly does not always arrive when you feel completely prepared.
Sometimes it simply presents you with a choice:
Will you stand?
David could stand before Goliath because long before he faced the giant publicly, he had been developing privately.
The sheep had prepared him.
The lion had prepared him.
The bear had prepared him.
The obscurity had prepared him.
His faith had prepared him.
And when his moment arrived, David was ready.
Perhaps some of what you are experiencing right now is preparation too.
The challenge you wish would disappear may be developing perseverance.
The assignment you think is insignificant may be teaching responsibility.
The difficult relationship may be developing wisdom.
The season of waiting may be developing patience.
The failure you would rather forget may be developing humility.
The opportunity you are afraid to accept may be inviting you toward your next level of leadership.
Don't waste the preparation because you cannot yet see the opportunity.
Your battlefield may be closer than you think.
Your moment may be coming.
And when it does, there comes a time when you have to stop waiting for someone else to step forward.
There comes a time to trust what you have learned.
There comes a time to trust how you have been prepared.
There comes a time to trust God with what happens next.
There comes a time to stand.
AN AUTHOR'S NOTE: DISCOVER YOUR OWN ARMOR
Are you struggling to define your own "armor"?
Perhaps you know you want to grow as a leader, but you are still working to understand your unique leadership style, strengths, passion, and direction.
I have developed resources specifically designed to help individuals take that next step.
Through Equip Coaching - Next Level, I work with individuals and groups to help them better understand who they are, what drives them, and how they can intentionally grow into the leader they are capable of becoming.
Leadership development should not simply teach you how someone else leads.
It should help you discover how you are uniquely equipped to lead.
I would welcome the opportunity to work with you individually or with your team as you identify your strengths, clarify your passion, and prepare for your own next level of leadership.
You can contact me at:
Email: drmikefriesz@sbcglobal.net
Phone: 816.550.2702
THE FINAL CHALLENGE
David's story reminds us that leadership is not defined only by titles, positions, offices, or organizational charts.
Leadership is revealed in moments.
Moments when others hesitate.
Moments when fear says retreat.
Moments when critics say you cannot.
Moments when circumstances seem bigger than your abilities.
Moments when you must decide whether you will remain safely where you are or step courageously toward where you are called to be.
You may not choose when your defining moment arrives.
But you can choose whether you will be prepared for it.
So prepare now.
Be faithful in the seemingly insignificant assignments.
Learn from the lions and bears.
Listen to wise counsel without surrendering to the critics.
Stop trying to wear somebody else's armor.
Develop your gifts.
Deepen your convictions.
Strengthen your faith.
Discover the leader you were created to become.
And when your giant appears, don't spend your life standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to move.
Step forward.
Run toward the battle.
Trust God with the outcome.
Because eventually, every leader encounters a moment when waiting is no longer enough.
There is a time to prepare.
There is a time to learn.
There is a time to wait.
And then there is a TIME TO STAND.
