Confident Leadership

Ex 14:13 "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today."

Fear is a stinky thing. I know that if there is anything that paralyzes me and causes me not to act, it is usually fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of what might happen. Fear that this is not going to work out. Fear that I might fail. Fear that it will lead to bad news. Fear that this might hurt. The reason I don't take risks, the reason I like to stay in my comfort zone is fear.

I am thinking that the children of Israel were there. They saw the Egyptian army descending on them with nowhere to go. What were they going to do, build a bridge over the Red Sea and escape within a day? No way. They did not see any way out of this dilemma. They were dead. And they were going to die a horrible death in the desert. This is not what they wanted. In fact, this is what they feared. This was not going to work out. This was total failure. This was bad news. This would definitely hurt. They took the risk to leave Egypt and they ran away from any comfort zone that they may have had (even though it was not that comfortable) and they went out into the unknown. And here they were, the Red Sea in front of them and the Egyptian army behind them pursuing them.

And Moses? Moses said: "Do not be afraid." How could he say that? Why was he so confident? Because, even though the people forgot what they had just experienced, even though the people forgot that God had just delivered them in a miraculous way, (how in the world were they going to teach their kids this when they had such short memories?), Moses did not forget. He knew the power of God and that God would not lead them out here to die. He knew that they were going to the land of the Hittites and Amorites and Canaanites. He knew their destiny and realized that nothing stood in their way because it was the Lord who would bring their salvation...on that very day. All the people had to do was watch. All the people had to do was stand still and see what God was going to do.

As I think of Moses in this situation I think of leadership. I think of good leadership. Moses displayed it here. He was confident in his God and went forward in that confidence...not in fear.

I wonder if I can say that about me? As God has given me the opportunity to help lead people, what do they see in me? Confidence or fear? Assurance or hesitance? Moving forward or holding back? I want to be a leader that can say with Moses: "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today."