Follow The Leader

Joshua 3:3-4
“When you see the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, move out from your positions and follow them. Since you have never traveled this way before, they will guide you." (NLT)

I've found in life that you are in one of two positions; leader or follower. No matter how old you get, you will find yourself in one of these positions. And to be clear, it's ok to be either one. Sometimes we are the designated leader. It might be at work, in the social order of our city, our in our home. Other times we're positioned behind a leader, we aren't blazing the trail but follow someone who is.

Most people want to be the leader. Seldom do people volunteer to be the follower, but scripturally it takes both leaders and followers to accomplish the goals of the LORD. By ratio alone, there are typically more followers than leaders. The most common reasons why we struggle with following is an unwillingness to submit our selves to the leader, stubbornness, jealousy, or even pride. Show me someone who refuses to submit to authority and I'll show you someone who is still struggling to submit to God as well. Leaders and followers.

I love the context of this verse. Joshua is saying to the Israelites, "Listen, we are going to move forward, cross this river, and enter our promised land. But stick close! Follow the leaders because you've never been here before. If you do that, it's all going to be ok!" We have to be willing to admit at times that we've never been here before and we need to follow a God-appointed leader. When we refuse to follow the leader, God calls that rebellion!

This week, develop a new-found respect for leaders as well as followers. On any given day, we are one or the other. Understanding this positions us to walk in God's favor, blessing and will.