Under New Management
A new year is upon us, and often, that means a new beginning. A sure sign of a desired new beginning is a business with a banner or sign out front that reads: Under New Management. We can often find these signs during this time of year, because we relate a new year to a new beginning.
What do these business signs typically mean to you when you see them posted out front? To me it reads, “The last manager in here was a total failure trying to run things. We’ve brought in new management to improve for the better.” These signs will actually make me wary for a while. I will keep my eye out to see if the management has really changed.
In this beginning of a new year, is it time for you to make a personal management change? How are you managing the day-to-day challenges that you face in this world? Do you seem to be going from one trial to another? If your life sometimes seems to be a daily struggle, then a bigger question for you is: Under what authority are you managing? You may ask, “What do you mean by ‘authority’? I’m under no one’s authority. I make my own decisions.” If that is your answer, then sooner than later you will be posting a “help wanted” sign.
As a manager, (we all have personal management responsibilities), you operate under some sort of authority. It is through an authority you answer to from which you are given authority. In the business world, it is your boss who gives you the authority to make the decisions that you make. Likewise, the personal decisions that you make each day are under an authority higher than you. Your decisions are influenced from under the authority that you operate. Under whose authority are you making decisions?
The Bible says, “Jesus drew near and said to them, ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.” (Matthew 28:18 GNB) This verse tells me that there is an ultimate authority for each of us; however, we choose whether to be directed under His authority or the authority of another… “So Jesus called them all together and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the heathen have power over them, and the leaders have complete authority.” (Matthew 20:25 GNB) The Apostle Paul explains the other authority this way: “At that time you followed the world's evil way; you obeyed the ruler of the spiritual powers in space, the spirit who now controls the people who disobey God.” (Ephesians 2:2 GNB) I ask you again, under whose authority are you making decisions? Is it time for you to seek new management?
You may think, “Does it really matter whose authority I operate? I’m just a guy/girl trying to get by each day.” The answer is “Yes!” Do you have an internal sense of purpose in your life? There is a personal plan of hope and future designed especially for you! You just have to make sure that you are operating under the proper Authority to receive this management “perk”. The Bible says, “I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for.” (Jeremiah 29:11 GNB) This verse may sound like the “management perk” that you might be seeking in this New Year. It is often quoted to encourage us. However, the two verses following this Bible text are the real benefit of structuring your management to operate under the proper Authority: “Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to me, and I will answer you. You will seek me, and you will find me because you will seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:12-13) I don’t know about you, but I like working under an Authority who will listen to me when I seek help and guidance. I choose to not miss out on any blessings that I may receive by following His directions.
One of the most famous women of the Bible is Deborah. You find her story in the Book of Judges. The Book of Judges is full of reminders about why Israel missed out on the blessings that were available to them. The Bible says, “After Ehud died, the people of Israel sinned against the LORD again.” (Judges 4:1 GNB) In other words, the people of Israel again chose to operate under the wrong authority. It is interesting to read about this “mother in Israel.” (Judges 5:7) Here we have a simple mother who chose to be managed under the proper Authority. She was used mightily to save the people of Israel from the distress of captivity of a Canaanite king. The Bible says, “Now Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, was a prophet, and she was serving as a judge for the Israelites at that time. She would sit under a certain palm tree between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel would go there for her decisions.” (Judges 4:4-5) The people came to Deborah for her judgments, but from where did she obtain her authority to judge?
We sometimes call the trials that we encounter in life “storms.” Are you in any type of storm now? Did you know that by choosing to operate under the proper authority, a storm could be used as a good thing? How would you like for your “storm” to be turned into a blessing?
The story of Deborah is very interesting. The king of Canaan, Jabin, cruelly oppressed Deborah’s people. It was through the king’s army commander, Sisera, which power was given to these oppressors by the strength of nine hundred iron chariots. This military authority was just too strong for the people of Israel to oppose. But the Bible says the people, “cried out to the Lord for help.” (Judges 4:3) Many times it takes a difficult trial (“a storm”) in our life to prompt us to decide to make a management change of authority. Only the Lord can turn a storm into a blessing, but you must first submit to His authority. Do you know that you cannot receive authority until you submit to the authority over you? A business world boss would never give you authority to make a change unless you first submitted to their authority.
The Lord gave Deborah’s authority to her because she submitted to do His will. Jesus received His authority from His Father through submission. He tells us, “To those who win the victory, who continue to the end to do what I want, I will give the same authority that I received from my Father.” (Revelation 2:26 GNB) Deborah sent for the military leader of Israel, Barak, and commissioned him to go against the army and chariots of Sisera. Here we have the strongest military leader of Israel before a mother serving under proper authority. Do you know what Barak’s answer to Deborah was? The Bible says, “Then Barak replied, "I will go if you go with me, but if you don't go with me, I won't go either." (Judges 4:8 GNB) Barak knew from where Deborah received her authority. She didn’t have to tell him. When you choose to make a management change, under the proper Authority, folks around you will know. You can actually take down your banner that reads, “Under New Management.” It will show.
Deborah went with Barak into battle. The Bible says, “When Barak attacked with his army, the Lord threw Sisera into confusion together with all his chariots and men. Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot.” (Judges 4:15 GNB) Do you know what caused the “confusion” to Sisera and all of his chariots? A storm! I mentioned earlier that only the Lord could turn one of your storms into a blessing. The Bible says, “Lord, when you left the mountains of Seir, when you came out of the region of Edom, the earth shook, and rain fell from the sky. Yes, water poured down from the clouds.” (Judges 5:4 GNB) The Lord sent a rare flooding thunderstorm that totally mired all of the heavy iron chariots. The very things that the Canaanites thought that gave them their authority (the iron chariots) were turned into useless handicaps. I ask you again, what have you placed your authority under? Could it possibly be in things or people in your life other than the Lord? The choice is yours.
In the beginning of this new-year, I encourage you to make a change in management if you have placed your authority under anything or anyone other than the Lord. Deborah was a simple mother who chose to submit to the authority of the Lord. The Lord, in turn, gave her the authority to win the battle, even in a storm. You, too, can win the battles in the storms of your life.
Robby
