Looking For the Leading of God
“It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed,” (Deuteronomy 31:8).
We often put a lot of faith in people. During the 1997 NBA Finals, it was Michael Jordan in which the team put all of their faith in as they put the ball in his hands to attempt a game winning shot. Likewise, during his 23 seasons as an NFL quarterback, anytime the team was trailing in the fourth quarter, all faith was placed on Tom Brady as he has the league record with his 46 fourth quarter comebacks. However, not everyone is going to be a leader during every aspect of life. Whenever people find somebody to follow, especially someone of good reputation and honor, those people typically tend to follow them continuously.
This is where the Israelites are right now. They were held captive in Egypt as slaves. However, there was a day in which the Lord came to speak to Moses. The story is very familiar, Moses is leading his father’s flock when an angel of the Lord appears before him and places a flame in the midst of a bush. As Moses is standing by this burning bush, the Lord begins to speak to Moses. After the introduction the Lord says to Moses, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the land of the Egyptians and to bring them up our of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt,” (Exodus 3:7-10).
If you are familiar with the story of Moses, you will recall that Moses was actually raised in the family of Pharaoh. After his escape from Egypt, it is clear that Moses has no intentions of going back to his childhood home. So this visit from God presents a hard choice to make. However, after some protest on Moses’ part, Moses obeys the command of God and goes to Egypt.
Moses would eventually lead the Israelites out of slavery. As the Egyptians began to chase down the Israelites to capture them back, God provides Moses with the power to part the Red Sea and the Israelites would cross on dry land. Time and time again, God would provide for the Israelites. But for the Israelites, Moses was the one in whom they were looking too. Moses was their leader who would provide for them. Unfortunately, it becomes very clear in Deuteronomy 31, that Moses’ time as the leader is coming to an end. Moses stands before the people and tells them, “I am 120 years old today. I am no longer able to go out and come in,” (Deuteronomy 31:2).
Moses’ time as the leader is over. Surely this was uncomforting for the Israelites as Moses is all they’ve had to look to and follow. How are they going to survive without Moses? Thankfully, for the Israelites, Moses gives them some encouragement. Moses first tells them, “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you,” (Deuteronomy 31:6). Further, Moses presents to the congregation of Israel the one who would take his place, Joshua. With Joshua standing before them also, Moses tells the people, “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed,” (Deuteronomy 31:8).
This is the encouragement that is needed even today. Everyone has people that they look up to on earth. Individuals who possibly from a young age were a role model in your life. Perhaps that was a parent, a grandparent, older siblings, member of the church, etc. But the truth is we’ve all read the passage in Hebrews, “it is appointed for man to die,” (Hebrews 9:27). While we have the hope that our role models and our leaders pass on to a better place than where they were before, it is still difficult to handle losing the person you’ve followed your whole life.
The great encouragement that is given to us in Deuteronomy 31 is that although our role models and our leaders on earth are going to pass away and be no more before us, the ultimate leader is always there. We should have no fear of having to walk alone with no knowledge of where we are going because we still have a leader. “It is the Lord who goes before you.” If we follow in the Lord, and follow His footsteps, we will never have to worry about being led astray.
Reading this week: John 6:22-59
Look For The Leading of God This Week!
