2 And God said, "Judah will go. I've given the land to him."
– 1 Kings 1:1
Who Me?
"All right everybody . . . Listen up! I need a volunteer to caddie for
Tiger Woods at the opening round of the U.S. Open this morning . . .
any takers?"
or,
"I need a volunteer to go to the Olympics this summer and report back
on all the fun you've had - all expenses paid . . . anyone up for it?"
How about . . . "I need a volunteer to gather up some men and women from local congregations and lead them into East Oakland to take down the gangs and clean up the neighborhoods" . . .
"Hey, where did everybody go?"
Can you imagine the scene? Some 2.5 million men, women, and children of Israel weren't just looking for someone to lead them around a mountain, they were looking for someone to fight the "Big Ugly" Canaanites! I bet there were plenty of reluctant nominees, but I doubt if anyone jumped up and said
"I'll do it!"
Then God spoke up and said, "Judah will go!"
Can you picture the look on Judah's face? "No way!" he must have thought. Or maybe he even felt honored, but I can almost guarantee you that inwardly he was shaking in his boots. Who wouldn't? This wasn't some cake-walk assignment he'd been tasked with, and even with the reassurance that God had given that he would be victorious, the self-doubt and second-guessing had to be tying him up in knots! But Judah obeyed, and not only did he lead his army in defeating the Canaanites, they defeated the Perizzites as well. God equipped Judah to be the leader and to make the decisions that had to be made, and to answer the hard questions that were constantly being asked. God took Judah's potential and He watched it blossom because of his willingness and his obedience to the call of leadership.
Have you been feeling God's tug or even His outright call into leadership? Are you holding back because you see your flaws, and faults, and inabilities? Are you looking at the task and thinking that it's just too big? I mean with all you already have going on in your life - the job, the family, the other commitments to play, and socialize, and other self-interests, you just don't have the time to be able to devote to one more "thing," . . . right? Believe me, I get it. I've been there. I know the felling only too well.
But let me challenge you today. Be called. Let God lead you into leadership. Take a giant leap of faith, put down your remote, and see where God will take you. It could be something as simple as leading the parking lot ministry or the coffee ministry, or it might be something like leading a home Bible study group. Who knows, He might even be calling you to pick up and move around the world to run an orphanage or to become a preacher. In any of these cases, it will take you out of your comfort zone and it will stretch you. But you know what happens when you are stretched? You grow! You grow into the leader that God has called you to be and if you let God lead you and teach you, not only will you succeed at the initial task, but you will go beyond yourself and you will see God move in ways you could never have imagined.
Who me? Yes . . . YOU! God is calling you – to serve, to work, to stretch, to grow, to love, to go farther than you ever thought you could go . . . to lead.
Prayer
Father, Thank You for Your wisdom and for the way You call us into leadership. You know what is inside us and the potential that we have to go beyond ourselves, and I pray that we would be willing to take the responsibility and step forward when the call comes - the call to be the leaders You know we are, the leaders that will encourage this dying world to run back to Your loving arms.
Have a blessed day everyone!
– Richard
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