Restarting Right: Leadership After the Storm
listen to genesis 8-11
Reflection…
Every leader will face moments where everything familiar is wiped away—where life presses reset and leadership starts again from the ground up. In Genesis 8–11, we see exactly that: a world emerging from the floodwaters, and a God giving humanity another chance. It’s a powerful picture of what it means to lead on the other side of the storm, and to walk the foot and a half from survival to significance.
Life After the Waters Recede
In Genesis 8, Noah leaves the ark and builds an altar. He doesn't begin with ambition or strategy—he begins with worship. This is a vital leadership moment: when the world has changed, our first step isn’t to rebuild bigger but to realign our hearts with God.
In Genesis 9, God reaffirms the value of life and establishes a covenant with Noah. Leadership here means stewarding a fresh start—carrying the weight of both responsibility and blessing. But even in this new beginning, human weakness surfaces. Noah’s own failure reminds us: even the most faithful leaders are still human.
The Foot and a Half: Between Promise and Pride
By Genesis 11, we find people united—but not in purpose under God. At Babel, humanity decides to build a name for itself. Instead of using unity for worship, they use it for self-exaltation. God confuses their language—not as punishment alone, but as protection. Pride unchecked would have led to destruction.
Here lies the foot and a half tension: the gap between receiving a promise from God (Genesis 9) and trying to fulfill it our own way (Genesis 11). It’s the pull between surrender and self-reliance, between worship and control.
Leadership Lessons from the Post-Flood World
Start with surrender: Leadership after loss begins not with blueprints, but with altars.
Lead with humility: Even after a great rescue, pride can creep in. Be aware of the temptation to build your own tower.
Embrace limits: God's disruption at Babel was a mercy. Sometimes leadership means accepting what we can’t control or complete.
Takeaway: The journey from Genesis 8–11 shows us that every new beginning requires heart alignment, not just head strategies. As leaders, we must walk the foot and a half from survival to surrender, from ambition to obedience, from building our name to honoring His.
