Leaders who put the Law of Navigation into practice do far more than simply determine the direction in which they and their team will travel. They see the entire trip in their mind's eye before they ever leave the harbor. They have a clear vision of their destination, and they understand everything it will take to get there. They also know exactly who they need on their team, and they recognize potential dangers before they appear on the horizon.
Sometimes it is challenging to keep the balance between optimism and realism, planning and intuition, faith and facts. But this ability is necessary for an effective leader to put the Law of Navigation into practice.
Above all else, the secret behind the Law of Navigation is preparation. Success happens when preparation meets opportunity. When a leader is well prepared, it gives the team security and is rewarded with trust. It is not the size of the project that guarantees acceptance, support, or success. It is the size of the leader. Leaders who apply this law outstandingly can go almost anywhere with their team.
It seems almost impossible, yet Nehemiah was able to see both the problem and the solution at the same time, even though he had never been to Jerusalem. That is an incredible ability of great leaders. They have unmatched vision. That is why they are able to guide people.
What makes a leader
A leader sees...
- farther than others see.
Nehemiah was able to see the problem even though he was hundreds of kilometers from Jerusalem. He was able to visualize the solution in his mind.
- more than others see.
Nehemiah knew that the wall could and must be rebuilt. He also knew everything it would take. Before he left Shushan, he asked the king for certain letters that would secure the necessary materials for the rebuilding, as well as protection for the journey to Judah.
- before others see it.
None of Jerusalem's neighbors wanted to stand by and watch the Jewish people rebuild the walls of the city of Jerusalem. Various enemies began to conspire against Nehemiah. But Nehemiah recognized the danger and planned accordingly. He gave his enemies no points of attack, and when his team sensed the danger, he developed a strategy so that the people could keep building the wall and keep defending it at the same time.
It took the Jewish people a full 52 days to rebuild the wall that had lain in ruins for more than 120 years. They were able to do exactly that because they had a great leader. Nehemiah knew his purpose, prepared his plans, and led the people through the process of carrying them out.
Nehemiah and his planning
Even before the rebuilding of the wall began, Nehemiah invested time preparing himself and his team.
1. He identified with the problem (1:2-4).
Nehemiah inquired about the state of the Jewish people and the wall around Jerusalem. When he heard that the wall lay broken and God's name was being trampled underfoot, he began to weep. His countrymen's problem became his problem and a burden he had to carry.
2. He spent time in prayer (1:4-11).
Right after that, Nehemiah got down on his knees and began to pray. He prayed for forgiveness for the wrongdoing of his countrymen and turned back on their behalf. Next he asked God for favor, and the vision for rebuilding the wall grew during this time of intense relationship with God.
3. He brought his ideas to key people (2:1-9).
In every leadership endeavor, key people can make the decisive difference. In Nehemiah's case, it was the Persian king Artaxerxes. From him Nehemiah received not only permission to rebuild the wall, but also the necessary resources and support. Nehemiah undoubtedly identified and inspired further key people in his process, to carry out the vision together with him.
4. He assessed the situation (2:11-15).
When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he assessed the state of the wall and its damage with his own eyes. He did so quietly and under cover of night, and planned his implementation carefully, without interruption and without unwanted advice from outside.
5. He met with people and gave them the vision (2:16-17).
It is not known exactly how Nehemiah convinced the people, or with whom he met and when exactly. But it is known that he met with the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the people who were to do the work. He conveyed to them the vision of rebuilding the wall and the spiritual necessity of this project.
6. He encouraged them with past successes (2:18).
Along with the task of rebuilding the wall, doubt about this project also grew among the people. Nehemiah instinctively knew that he had to encourage the people. So he encouraged them and told them of the grace of his God and what the king had said to him. "And I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work."
7. He got the people to see it as their own task (2:18).
Two short sentences show the key moment for the wall-rebuilding project. "And I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work." The people took ownership of the project as their own and followed Nehemiah's leadership and his vision.
8. He organized the people and their work (3:1-3:32).
The people did not work randomly or arbitrarily at whatever point they happened to be standing. Nehemiah organized them by families and gave them tasks that he had prioritized beforehand according to need. They began with the city gates.
Nehemiah put an incredible amount of work into carrying out his vision. Without his outstanding leadership qualities and his detailed planning, the wall would very likely never have been rebuilt.
Nehemiah 1:2 That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. 4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven.
Nehemiah 1:4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, 5 And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: 6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned. 7 We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. 8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: 9 But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. 10 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. 11 O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.
Nehemiah 2:1 And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence. 2 Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, 3 And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? 4 Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it. 6 And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. 7 Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah; 8 And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
Nehemiah 2:11 So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days. 12 And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon. 13 And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. 14 Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. 15 Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned.
Nehemiah 2:16 And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work. 17 Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. 18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.
Nehemiah 3:1 Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel. 2 And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri. 3 But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof. 4 And next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz. And next unto them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next unto them repaired Zadok the son of Baana. 5 And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord. 6 Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof. 7 And next unto them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah, unto the throne of the governor on this side the river. 8 Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries, and they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall. 9 And next unto them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem. 10 And next unto them repaired Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, even over against his house. And next unto him repaired Hattush the son of Hashabniah. 11 Malchijah the son of Harim, and Hashub the son of Pahathmoab, repaired the other piece, and the tower of the furnaces. 12 And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters. 13 The valley gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and a thousand cubits on the wall unto the dung gate. 14 But the dung gate repaired Malchiah the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of Bethhaccerem; he built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof. 15 But the gate of the fountain repaired Shallun the son of Colhozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah; he built it, and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and the wall of the pool of Siloah by the king's garden, and unto the stairs that go down from the city of David. 16 After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half part of Bethzur, unto the place over against the sepulchres of David, and to the pool that was made, and unto the house of the mighty. 17 After him repaired the Levites, Rehum the son of Bani. Next unto him repaired Hashabiah, the ruler of the half part of Keilah, in his part. 18 After him repaired their brethren, Bavai the son of Henadad, the ruler of the half part of Keilah. 19 And next to him repaired Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, another piece over against the going up to the armoury at the turning of the wall. 20 After him Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly repaired the other piece, from the turning of the wall unto the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest. 21 After him repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah the son of Koz another piece, from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib. 22 And after him repaired the priests, the men of the plain. 23 After him repaired Benjamin and Hashub over against their house. After him repaired Azariah the son of Maaseiah the son of Ananiah by his house. 24 After him repaired Binnui the son of Henadad another piece, from the house of Azariah unto the turning of the wall, even unto the corner. 25 Palal the son of Uzai, over against the turning of the wall, and the tower which lieth out from the king's high house, that was by the court of the prison. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh. 26 Moreover the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel, unto the place over against the water gate toward the east, and the tower that lieth out. 27 After them the Tekoites repaired another piece, over against the great tower that lieth out, even unto the wall of Ophel. 28 From above the horse gate repaired the priests, every one over against his house. 29 After them repaired Zadok the son of Immer over against his house. After him repaired also Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the east gate. 30 After him repaired Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, another piece. After him repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah over against his chamber. 31 After him repaired Malchiah the goldsmith's son unto the place of the Nethinims, and of the merchants, over against the gate Miphkad, and to the going up of the corner. 32 And between the going up of the corner unto the sheep gate repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants.