Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Not a democracy: Num 16-18


Armchair quarterbacks abound when people get uncomfortable.  Over and over again, the people demand to share power with Moses, not realizing this was not a topic for debate.  Moses handles this with great dignity and care.  He does not demand to be in charge, but he grieves that the people would challenge God's authority in the matter. 
It's easy to struggle with  leadership when circumstances don't go well.  When we are following a human leader in a human endeavor, that might be understandable (maybe), but when you are following God, it's not ok.  Challenging the leadership God selects for the work He does is the same as challenging God.  He picked the leader and He can be counted on to continue to direct that person.  That doesn't mean we don't humbly and graciously address the sins and character flaws that all leaders have, particularly if they are hurting people.  That means first going to his Boss in prayer, asking that He address the issue in our hearts and the leader's heart.  Jesus gave a process for dealing with these issues that involves much grace and mercy. 

This is even important for an intercessor as they pray.  Part of the leadership role is to go to God to get directions for where the group is supposed to go.  A good leader will consult his intercessory team, but should be confident enough in his own relationship with God to get that vision directly.  Once he has gotten it from God, then it is the intercessor's job to pray through that vision.  The intercessor can pray for the leader to have clarity in their vision.  The intercessor can pray for God's priorities to surface and for needs to be met by their group or by others, but it's not likely that God will send your vision to the leader--you aren't God.  It may be God Himself that is making you uncomfortable.  If you can't follow the vision the leader has set before you, then you can ask God to release you to go elsewhere, but you can't just cause trouble for the leader because you disagree.  That is what the enemy does. 

We'll talk about the responsibilities of a leader another day...It's coming up soon. 

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