Leaders Are Made Not Born

 

In the third chapter of Exodus, a conversation ensures between God and Moses. You’re probably familiar with the story of the Burning Bush.  In this story, we read Moses’ response to God’s assignment, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt,” see verse 11.   I hadn’t noticed before, but God uses a different word than I would have expected.  God says, “Come, and I will send you.”  Wouldn’t you agree that like Moses, we too would have heard the word “Go” rather than “Come?”  In verse 8, God subtly revealed that He had come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians.  Moses had not yet learned to listen closely to God’s Word.  Moses was not yet familiar with the nature of God when he asked his “who am I” question.  Just a few verses before, God needed to instruct Moses to remove his shoes because the Creator who was addressing him was holy.  God’s presence consecrated the ground on which Moses stood.  More than likely, it is safe to assume that Moses did not know he was speaking to the one who made his life possible.  God’s answer was simple yet direct, “But I will be with you.”

     Moses had not received training on how to be a leader, especially in a God-sized assignment.  I’m sure Moses was more than a bit overwhelmed.  It is easy to see why Moses would be questioning his own abilities; he had not yet encountered the power of God.  Moses assumed the same thing we often do that our skills or knowledge provide the measure of what we can accomplish.  The truth is, without God’s power behind our pursuits, we should only expect to achieve a fraction of what God has in mind for us to do.  God’s purpose for our lives is far greater than we can even imagine.  Without God, my ability to write anything of value is greatly hindered.  I often attempt to force my writing with a self-imposed deadline only to struggle with words and concepts that I can not begin to explain.  Then later, I realize that in my efforts, I have not involved God in the process.  I write because God inclines my heart to do so.  I can attest to many partially written articles that God never intended me to share. 

     God wishes to grow the leader.  In Exodus, we can see God’s hand steering and guiding not only Moses but also Pharaoh, Aaron, and the children of Israel.  The content of Exodus can be extracted and viewed from many different angles.  It was God’s words in Moses’ mouth that resonated in the ears of the Israelites.  Those same words would fall flat on Pharaoh, not because of any failure to deliver them correctly, but because God planned that Pharaoh would reject them.  God wasn’t expecting that Moses would need to know what to say or do; God told Moses exactly what to say and taught him how to use signs and wonders.  It was God’s words that held influence; Moses needs only to open his mouth. 

     We can watch the story’s narrative and recognize that Moses was beginning to ask more relevant questions concerning this mission.  When Moses asked his first ‘what if’ question, we might see it as an excuse, but ‘what if’ his question was to help both he and us flush out God’s identity?  If we want our words to hold more meaning, might we incline our ears to hear what God is telling Moses?  In leadership, having confidence in our own abilities to answer questions regarding God’s plan is often a stumbling block that causes us to resist God’s assignment.  We assume that our response must come from knowledge, and we are uncertain about how much we truly know.  Confidence comes from learning to trust God’s plan, not our own.  God knows the outcome He intends; we are far more clueless than we give ourselves credit.

     Can you see that Moses needs to develop his listening skills?  God has explained the details of His plan to Moses while also describing exactly how things will pan out.  God said the people would listen, and Pharaoh would not.  I can only imagine that Moses filled with adrenaline over the people’s response, felt caught off-guard when Pharaoh said no.   There was a disconnection between God’s foretelling and Moses’ expectation in his first encounter with Egypt’s king.  This lesson should reveal that the gap between expectation and outcome is filled with frustration.  That is our normal emotional response.  How we respond to frustration determines whether we will experience growth in the disappointment or settle with some other less satisfying results.  The test:  Are we listening to God's voice?  

     As we read the Exodus account, can we look for signs of God’s willingness to work with Moses to teach him leadership skills?  Moses is unskilled labor, as are we when it comes to a dependence on God to work according to His plan.  None of us are natural-born leaders.  It is through God’s repeated investment in our lives that we begin to learn new skills.  God demonstrated patience in teaching.  It is not difficult to recognize human impatience when we watch people fail, but thank goodness, God does not grow weary.

     In Exodus 33:15-16, we can note that Moses has grown into his leadership position through all the repeating opportunities God supplied.  Moses says, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.  For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people?  Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?  Moses was no longer a lone ranger.   He was no longer considering only himself.  Moses uses several pronouns that give us a clue to his changed mindset when he says ‘we’ and ‘us.’  He has grown into a leader.  Moses recognizes that his actions were not only for his own benefit but also for the people he’d been called to lead.   

    Not to depart too far from this lesson, a few weeks ago, our congregation benefited from a sermon called “Radical Requirement,” which focused on forgiveness.  Little did we know how timely this message was delivered.  Not only was this message a timely topic for the followers of Jesus in Matthew, but it is highly relevant in our world today.   People in our lives will disappoint us with their actions, but we cannot assume that God hasn’t created an outcome that will test their reliance on Him to save them from eternal damnation.  We cannot assume there is no purpose in failure.  Nothing that happens is haphazard or outside what God is willing to allow.  If events don’t match our expectations, rather than enable frustration to hinder us, shouldn’t we look for the lesson amid difficulties?  As believers, we are sanctification in process.  We can have confidence that God reigns in victory.  Although we have difficulty seeing clearly, we can know that our failings will not thwart God’s plans.  He is using suffering to build our leadership skills.  As we walk with Christ, can we also find ourselves more other-centered so that our decision to allow God to lead us, not only helps in our redemption but also in the rescue of other lost souls?