Leadership That Leads Us Forward
Leadership is never neutral. Every word we speak, every attitude we carry, and every conversation we allow is moving us somewhere. Either closer to God’s purposes or further into delay. I reminded our staff that leadership is not just about what we do; it’s about who we are becoming.
One of the greatest threats to leadership momentum is a complaining spirit. Scripture is clear: complaining angers God(Numbers 11:1). God hears what we say, and our words either align with faith or open the door to defeat. You cannot complain and expect God to heal, promote, or advance you. Complaining does not enhance your life. It hinders it.
Leaders must make a decision: don’t be a complainer. Be a light.
Complaining Reveals What’s Inside
Complaining is rarely about circumstances. It comes from a deeper place, a bitter spirit. Job tells us plainly that complaining flows from bitterness (Job 7:11). When leaders allow bitterness to linger, it shapes their words, their perspective, and eventually their direction.
The Israelites defeated themselves in the wilderness not because of giants, but because of murmuring (1 Corinthians 10:10). Complaining opened the door to destruction. God is moved by faith, not frustration.
Every day of complaining kept them another year from the Promised Land (Numbers 14). A lack of discipline in our mouth will always hold us back.
Leaders Set the Climate
Leadership reproduces. You don’t reproduce what you want, you reproduce what you are. If you complain, you create complainers. If you speak faith, you raise up winners.
That’s why leaders must change the direction of conversations. We don’t respond to complaining, and we don’t partner with it. If someone begins to complain, we redirect on purpose and without apology. Winners stop complainers.
Scripture tells us to talk like winners if we want to attract winners (Deuteronomy 1:22). God hears what is said in our homes, not just in church. What we say before work and after work matters.
Perspective Determines Destiny
Complaining always reveals a distorted picture of God. It causes us to magnify giants instead of remembering God’s faithfulness. The right friends push us toward God; the wrong voices pull us away.
Some people may be good people, but they are not meant to walk with you into your Promised Land. Leaders must be willing to shed anything and anyone that pulls them away from faith.
Caleb followed God fully because he refused the language of fear and unbelief. Leaders don’t say everything they think, but they always think about where their words are leading others.
How We Overcome
We overcome a complaining spirit by returning to truth:
Remember what God has already done.
Look at His mercy, which is new every morning (Lamentations 3).
Feed your faith intentionally.
Focus on the future God has promised (Jeremiah 29:11–13).
Yield your emotions, feelings, and mouth to the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5).
Stay in fellowship with Him.
Leadership requires discipline especially in our words. God hears them. Others are shaped by them. And our destiny is often waiting on us to change the way we speak.
Let’s lead with faith. Let’s speak life. And let’s move forward.