Clear Headed Leadership

If you feel oppressed,
Go into a dimly lit and quiet place.
Lift both your hands up to heaven.
Make the sign of a cross over yourself.
Then lift up the eyes of your soul toward God.
The oppression will leave you.

Symeion the New Theologian

Don’t get distracted beacuase you do or don’t know what the “sign of the cross” is. The tradition extends far beyond its traditional association with the Catholic Church. In this case, Symeion is an Orthodox believer – the root of all of the evangelical faiths. The “sign of the cross” was and is no different from the little fish symbols that are all over evangelicals' cars and clothes. That fish was orinally two motions – one arc drawn by each believer – that resulted in a fish that was a secret symbol of Christianity. The sign of the cross was a two motions made by the believer to remember the work of Christ – much like communion or the Lord’s supper.

How appropriate it is to see four clear steps to clearing your “sprititual head” when life is destroying the work of God’s love in us:

• Go to a dimly lit place – Environment is everything. Peter taught, “…you are in this world, not of it…”. We can become like the people we dwell with, unless we are certain to retain our focus. It is hard to pray and hear God’s words in the middle of the noise oppression.
• Lift both your hands up to heaven – We need to present ourselves to a Father that we know is bigger than any of our foes. Like little children reaching up to their earthly fathers, we need to reach to our Father.
• Make the sign of the cross over yourself – Much like the evagelical sayings of old, “Take it to the cross,” or, “leave it at the cross,” or, “remember the cross,” we need to remember that all of the world was defeated and all of sin forgiven and all of Life offered at the cross. It is the cross that takes away the sin of the world. It was Christ on the cross who did a work that freed us – even our souls right now.
• Then lift up the eyes of your soul to God – We need to keep our eye on God. We need to be looking for God solutions. We need to see His love. We need His grace. We need His care.

Leaders need to be clear and not destroyed, distraught and distracted. Jesus is the Light and He drives out the darkness. He is the Savior and He rescues His Beloved. Be deep!