Lean on God, not yourself
Asa relies on the LORD
Facing a vastly larger army, King Asa did not first calculate his odds or trust his own strategy. He prayed: LORD, there is no one besides you to help, between the mighty and the weak. We rely on you, and in your name we go against this multitude.
It is the embodiment of the proverb every leader knows but few live: trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. Asa had a mind and used it, but he did not lean on it. His confidence rested on God, who then gave the victory.
“LORD, there is no one besides you to help... we rely on you.”
— King Asa, before battle — 2 Chronicles 14:11 (WEB)
Lean on God's wisdom, not merely your own analysis. Trust and acknowledge him in all your ways, and he will direct your paths.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and don't lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Asa used his mind but leaned on God, not on his own understanding. A leader formed here trusts God first and acknowledges him in every decision, rather than consulting him only as a backup. He holds his own judgment under God's. The inner work is genuine reliance on God over self-reliance.
Bring God into your decisions first, not as a last resort when your own analysis fails. Use your mind fully, but lean on the Lord, not on it. Acknowledge God in all your ways, and model that dependence for your team. Trust him to direct paths your own understanding cannot foresee.
Capable leaders lean entirely on their own understanding and consult God only when stuck, mistaking competence for sufficiency. The blind spot is self-reliance dressed up as good judgment.
Take one decision you would normally make on your own analysis. This week, genuinely bring it to God first — trust and acknowledge him in it — before you lean on your own understanding.
Capable leaders are tempted to lean entirely on their own understanding — their analysis, experience, and judgment — and to consult God only when their own resources run out. Scripture reverses the order: trust God first, with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
In your decisions, are you leaning mainly on your own understanding and consulting God as a backup — or genuinely trusting and acknowledging him first?