This week, an Israeli icon died. Shimon Peres was instrumental in the founding of the State of Israel and served the nation twice as prime minister—where he earned the Nobel Peace Prize—and later as president.

On March 15, 2012, I had an opportunity with a very small group to spend time with President Peres. I recorded notes of this meeting in my journal and learned three distinct leadership lessons that day.

1. Keep a positive outlook in trials. Shimon Peres stated, “Optimists and pessimists die the exact same death, but they live very different lives.”

As followers of Christ, we have even more of a cause for optimism in the middle of trials. Think about the disciples in Mark 6.

Twice before in Mark’s Gospel the disciples had sailed the Lake of Galilee. The first ride terrified the disciples when they felt they were drowning in the storm at sea. The second trip went smoothly.

I wonder if the disciples thought there was a fifty/fifty chance of trouble on this third trip. Jesus sent them to Bethsaida while He stayed back to pray. From the vantage point of the mountainside, He had a clear view of the lake. I have stood in that vicinity many times, and you can see all the way across the seven plus miles of the lake’s width.

Things didn’t go well for the disciples. They had been rowing for hours and were still stuck in the middle of the lake. What a picture! The disciples were straining and Jesus was praying. They were on the water, and He was on the land.

Like them, we are often in the middle of trouble while He is safe on the shore! He doesn't come immediately to our rescue and offers no excuse for His delay. Just as He continued in prayer while the disciples were fighting a storm, so today from heaven’s throne He prays for us (Romans 8:34).

Why would we need to worry when we know He is watching us carefully and praying for us?

Why would we need to worry when we know He is watching us carefully and praying for us?

I recorded in my journal the evening of March 15, “Clearly, at the age of 88, Peres is an optimist and believes in the youth and the future.”

2. Extend grace to those around you. Peres reminisced about the character of David Ben-Gurion, primary founder of the State of Israel, who was not born in the nation he led and had no army when he had to fight a war. Peres recalled that Ben-Gurion allowed people around him to make mistakes, but never tolerated anyone who didn’t tell the truth.

Again, I’m reminded of Mark. We know John Mark was the cousin of Barnabas (Colossians 4:10), that his mother was Mary who had a house in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12), that he accompanied Barnabas and Paul on the first missionary journey but deserted them (Acts 13:3,13), that Paul refused to take him on the second missionary journey thereby producing a split from Barnabas (Acts 15:36-41), but that years later from prison Paul asked for Mark to come because Mark was helpful to him (2 Timothy 4:11).

Think of it! John Mark twice ran away from danger. Once, when Jesus was arrested. And, secondly when the going got difficult on the first missionary journey! But, in the end, he’s no longer a runaway. He heads straight to Rome where Paul is held in Nero’s prison, and where great danger awaits.

Often we too easily discard individuals around us who fail or make mistakes when God has a great plan for them on the horizon.

3. Don’t let creativity be stifled by a lack of resources. I asked President Peres if there was ever a time above all others in his more than 60 years as a leader when he was afraid. Without hesitation, he recalled the events of 1948.

At the age of 24, David Ben-Gurion summoned the young Shimon Peres from being a shepherd to becoming an assistant. Peres recounted that in 1948, he was waiting for Ben-Gurion and opened a desk drawer and saw a letter from a person declining to be commander of the Haganah because they only had 6 million rounds of ammunition—enough for 6 days. Peres thought to himself, “We only have 6 days to live.” But, of course, the young State of Israel overcame its difficulties, gaining independence in the war of 1948.

At the time I met with President Peres, the U.S. was in financial turmoil. He remarked, “America had more money than it had ideas.” Peres spurred Israel on to dream and think innovatively, helping shape the “start-up nation.” Just prior to our visit, Peres had spent time in Silicon Valley and believed that America was beginning to recover its innovation.

This is another principle underscored in the Gospel of Mark. Other than Jesus’ resurrection, the feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle found in all four Gospels. That says to me that this event must have significance beyond just the miracle itself.

Consider that if you break five small loaves into twelve baskets, that’s less than half a loaf per basket. And two small fish translates into one-sixth of a fish in each basket. I can envision the disciples standing there looking into their baskets, and seeing mostly basket. I’d love to have seen the expressions on their faces—incredulous, no doubt. Then Jesus said, “Go feed the crowd.”

God is not discouraged by how little we have to work with. He actually plans it that way. Keep dreaming and believing God for what is ahead. Follow Him in obedience and He’ll take care of the rest!

George O. Wood is general superintendent of the Assemblies of God (USA) and author of Fearless: How Jesus Changes Everything, a verse-by-verse devotional through the Gospel of Mark.

Title image by World Economic Forum from Cologny, Switzerland - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Davos 2005, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3506612