It doesn't take much for a leader to make a bad decision that can affect people for years. The tragedy is, that for a Christian leader, it doesn’t have to be this way.
Joshua found this out the hard way. He and his leaders were having great success as they conquered the enemies in the Promised Land.
They were so successful that the Gibeonites knew they would be next. So, they deceived them by putting on old clothes, going to the Israelites and telling them they came from a far land and wanted to strike a covenant of peace. Israel made a deadly decision which allowed the Gibeonites to become a thorn in their side for decades.
THE FATAL STEP
""So the men of Israel took some of their provisions, and did not ask for the counsel of the Lord."" (Joshua 9:14)
God was waiting and would have exposed this lie if the Israelites had just taken time to ask Him. They assumed that things were fine and underestimated their enemy.
A leader can't afford to assume anything. He is charged with the responsibility to oversee his home and all those entrusted to his care. It is a serious and sacred task.
God has made Himself accessible to any leader who will take the time to listen to Him. He has given us His Word, His Spirit, and His church as a three-fold means of discovering His will.
He will give the leader excellent direction if asked. Not only are the lives of people, but also God’s glory is at stake.
Are you making some assumptions right now? Headed into a place of blind defeat, simply because you are not asking for the counsel of the Lord?
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Everyone in this life deals with the aches and pains and diseases and weaknesses of their physical body. We pray for those we know who are in deep physical distress. We mourn those who are dying. We fear physical loss. It is seen by most as their greatest enemy. Death is the one thing we cannot escape.
But for the believer, our physical deterioration is a sign of better things to come.
All of us have fears. Fear of man, fear of the unknown, fear that we don't have what it takes, fear of the future, fear of death--the list is endless.
And, our behavior is driven by those fears in ways we are not even aware. We develop strategies to compensate for our fears. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be delivered from our fears?
