Today’s Reading Deuteronomy 30-31
Focal Scripture: Deuteronomy 31:7 “Moses then summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with this people into the land the Lord swore to give to their ancestors. You will enable them to take possession of it.”
How the end comes for a leader speaks a lot about them as a person. Moses knew his time was up. His leadership was coming to an end but he still wanted to pass on the leadership in a healthy way. Moses did not try to hang on to his position longer than was needed. He lifted up Joshua in front of the entire assembly. There was no jealousy. There were no buts in a sentence. Moses was an encouragement to Joshua and demonstrated that new leadership was on the way.
The takeaway for believers today is having a good leadership team around you to make transitions smooth. You will never have a perfect team but you should have a team that cares for one another. In today’s culture good church leadership can be hard to find. Too often staff members bicker, have agendas, and even talk about others they work with behind their backs. It causes a very toxic environment. Church members should expect more from their leaders. Many churches have leaders who have multiple personalities. They are kind and nice to the movers and shakers. Then they are mean and controlling to those who think and act different than them.
However, we have a better example in these verses. Moses did not have an ego. Moses rooted for his successor. Moses promoted Joshua publicly and lifted up his ministry. Moses was for success of the people whether he was in charge or not. Great leaders know when their time is up and get out of the way for new leadership to take over.
The lesson here is to be a leader who cares about your people and lifts them up and not tear them down. Encouragement goes a long way. Smart leaders promote those who are skilled and watch them flourish. Poor leaders look to destroy those who are skilled.
We have went over leadership several times this year in reading. It is a major theme in the Old Testament. Unfortunately, most people do not know how to lead or want to learn biblical principles of leadership. Thankfully, Moses shows how to transition leadership effectively, even under difficult circumstances. If you are a leader reading this, especially in a church setting make sure you are leading God’s church well, not just holding onto a paycheck. If it is time to move on it will benefit you and the church as a whole.
Tomorrow I plan on reading Deuteronomy 32-34
