Today’s Reading Numbers 26-27
Focal Scripture: Numbers 27:18-19 “The Lord replied to Moses, Take Joshua son of Nun, a man who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. Have him stand before the priest Eleazar and the whole community, and commission him in their sight.”
Being a leader happens in a variety of ways. Sometimes you can apply for the position. Other times someone may recommend you because they think you will be a good fit. Then sometimes the Lord directs your path to put you in leadership.
Here we sit that Moses is asking the Lord for a leader who will take care and look after the people. Because of his sin he would be barred from entering the promised land. However, he did have a request who would lead the people after he was gone. He did not want the Israelites to be sheep without a shepherd. The Lord tells Moses to take Joshua and lay hands on him. Then to commission him in the sight of everyone. This may seem strange since Moses is still alive but this is actually great leadership. A transition plan has been put into place for when Moses dies and also to allow Joshua to learn from a great leader.
The application here for us is that we all lead somewhere in our lives. To be a godly leader we need to be full of the Spirit and teachable. We also need to be willing to learn from good leaders. This means that fathers need to learn how to be a good father from others who do it well. Learn from leaders who teach and preach well. Learn from leaders who treat others well. Learning from good leaders produces good leaders. Learning from bad leaders produces bad leaders.
My challenge to you today is are you willing to learn how to be a good leader. Are you willing to submit yourself to leadership that is God honoring. Because if you are God can use you greatly to impact the kingdom. It doesn’t matter if it is in the church world or the secular world. Being a great leader comes down to being loving, caring, building people up, and knowing that you will not always be in leadership. Creating a legacy that is about more than you demonstrates maturity.
A special note to those who lead God’s church. The church does not belong to you. The buck doesn’t end with you. To lead God’s church well you must know your place. That place is to be a person full of the spirit and dependent on God. To often church leaders rely on personality and skill instead of a submitted heart to Christ. After all it is not our church it is Christ’s. Lead with that in mind.
Tomorrow I plan on reading Numbers 28-30
