Good Leaders Listen and Empower

   "But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied." 

   Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. 

Exodus 18:21-24 NIV

Moses did a couple of things here that anyone in leadership should pay attention to. First, he listened and second he empowered. Two characteristics you will find in good leaders and notice they are lacking in poor leaders.

First of all, Moses listened to his father-in-law. He could of ignored him or resisted the advice on grounds that Jethro wasn't a "prophet" or didn't say something like "thus saith the Lord". Moses listened to his father-in-law's advice and discerned that it was from God, so he listened and did everything Jethro said. 

Secondly, by taking Jethro's advice he empowered others. Notice that he didn't just delegate responsibility, he delegated authority. This is really where great leaders set themselves apart from simple dumping delegators. Many leaders delegate, then try to micro-manage those they delegate. Then they get frustrated because things don't work out or that they have to manage what they "delegated" so much. I call that dumping, not delegating. Think about Jesus, he didn't just delegated jobs to the disciples, he empowered them with authority to drive out demons, heal in His Name, and proclaim the Kingdom of God (Matthew10:1, Luke 9:1-2). Moses learned to not just delegate but to empower capable men to make decisions. That's empowering leadership.

Final thoughts: Listen and empower. Who do you need to listen to? Who can you empower? Also, how is Christ empowering you?

Battle On, Lift Up Your Hands

As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 

Exodus 17:11 NIV

Joshua led the army and fought the battle, yet the focus of this narrative is Moses holding his arms up to the Lord, interceding, if you will. Later in the chapter the Lord  tells Moses to make sure that Joshua hears about it. 

The lesson for Joshua was that it was the Lord who gave him the victory. As Moses, Aaron and Hur recounted the day to Joshua, recalling when Moses' arms lowered and they lifted them back up, Joshua remembered how the battle took its ups and downs. It was a lesson I believe he learned and knowing that it was God who fought his battles gave him the courage to lead the Israelites when Moses died. 

The lesson for us is that while we may think we are all alone in the battle Christ is interceding for us (Hebrews 7:25) and the battle is not just us, but the Lord with us. Christ is always interceding for us and the good news is that he never gets tired. There is one other part of the lesson and that is that sometimes we are called to lift up holy hands in prayer for someone we know who is in a battle, to be the intercessor. So, battle on and lift you hands in prayer to those you know in the battle they are fighting.

The Lord Will Fight for You

Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Exodus 14:13-14 NIV

This is a great chapter for a lot of reason. One is that God will fight for us as we stand firm. We don't need to be afraid because God will go before us and as the Israelites would see, God will stand guard behind us too. 

I also find it interesting that Moses told them to stand firm then he cried out to the Lord and the told asked him, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on?" Then the Lord sends them through the sea. If I put myself in Moses' place I don't think taking a short cut through the sea would be my plan. He probably thought God would just wipe out the Egyptians right there, that's why he told them to stand firm and they would see the deliverance of the Lord. 

Sometimes our deliverance takes us through a route we couldn't even conceive. We might have to walk through the sea to get to where God wants us to be. If I was an Israelite and I was backed into a corner, then sent into the sea, and the sea is standing up on both sides of me, I would kind of be in shock, awe and maybe a bit afraid. I just would of never thought of that as being a possible deliverance. 

What's the lesson for us? Stand firm and see the deliverance of the Lord. Don't be surprised if deliverance leads you down a path you never would of thought of. But, trust him to deliver you. 

Day or Night, He Will Guide

By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. 

Exodus 13:21 NIV

Many of us may want a pillar of cloud or fire to let us know which way we should go.  But, God has given us his Holy Spirit to lead and guide us. He has given us the Bible. II Timothy 3:16-17 tells us, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God my be thoroughly equipped for every good work." Reading the Bible with humility and faith will allow the Holy Spirit to be your pillar of cloud and fire. 

Humility is realizing who you are before God in Christ. We are all finite beings created in the image of God. While we were yet sinners Christ died so that we may be reconciled to God. Like Paul, I consider myself the chief of sinners. The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to teach us, to rebuke us, to correct us and train us in righteousness. The catch is; you have to read it. 

I encourage you to allow the Holy Spirit to guide you by day and night by reading the Bible and let the Spirit, teach, rebuke, correct and train you in righteousness. 

The Grace of Distinction

But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.’ Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. 

Exodus 11:7 NIV

Let me ask you this: Were the Israelites perfect people? No. Moses was a murderer and the rest of the book of Exodus (and the rest of the Bible) matter-of-factly recalls the Israelites' sinful imperfections. 

Yet God, in his amazing patience, mercy and grace, makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. Following Christ is not a matter of performance and perfection. Christianity is about living by faith. Faith in God's patience, mercy and grace. I don't know why he chose me, but he did. I know I don't deserve his patience, mercy and grace, but, I'll take it! 

The only real response is to live in that mercy and grace. The Israelites had been in slavery for their whole lives. That's all they knew. Yet God, delivered them when they couldn't really even conceive of what that actually meant. 

Think about it. If the Lord spoke to you that he was going to take you out of your present situation and give you a home and new life, wouldn't you find that a bit difficult to really imagine. God let Moses have a peak at the promised land, just to see what it really looked like. God knows we can't see the end from the beginning. All we can do is take the next steps of faith and live in his mercy in grace. 

So You May Know

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs of mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord.”

Exodus 10:1-2 NIV

Here's the bottom line: we may not understand the depths of free will, choice and all that doctrinal stuff, but, the desired end of it all is that we may know that He is the Lord. God's ways are not always discernible to us. We are  finite created beings. The Lord, is infinite and eternal, the everlasting one. 

The Lord was showing Pharaoh, the Egyptians, and the Israelites that He was the Lord. At first it didn't seem that great to the Israelites because they just had to make more bricks with less straw. Then, as the plagues progressed they saw how God protected them. I am sure it was quite a site to look over from Goshen and see the rest of Egypt infested with gnats and locus, darkness. 

The point is that God shows himself Sovereign and faithful in many different ways. It's not our choice, except to live by faith. Sometimes we need to just watch and see what God is doing. Crazy things may be happening around us, but God is still the Lord and working his will as he so chooses. 

Remember His Wonderful Acts

Lord, thank you for being our strength. Thank you that you have done wonderful acts on our behalf and in our lives. Thank you for giving me the strength and wisdom I needed last week! Praise and glory be to you in and through all our lives!