This is the third in a four-part series for ministry leaders who feel wrung out, stressed out or burned out.
As a leader, have you ever tired of trudging through the heat and sand, wondering if your next step would miraculously take you to higher ground? While it is good to have our eyes on the final destination, it is often the daily grind where we hone our skills.
The growing ground of faith
Where was Moses was leading his people? Scripture tells us God’s Words to Pharaoh were, “Let my people go so that they may worship me in the desert” (Exodus 7:16; 8:1, 20; 9:1, 13; 10:3). The desert, not the Promised Land! The desert was their growing ground.
God knew the people needed time to get to know Him personally, to learn to believe in Him, to strengthen their faith, to understand His character and nature. If they were to go directly to the Promised Land they would know only of His provision and promise.They could easily become a shallow-faithed, self-serving people who chose to ignore the essentials and foundational knowledge of who God really is. Their journey of faith would end up to be a false charade instead of an authentic experience. In their pursuit of the great provisions of God they would forget the pursuit of intimacy, which makes our Christian experience a relationship other than a religion — an intimacy every human heart craves. Paul experienced it when he said, “I count all things as rubbish that I might know Him” (Philippians 3:10, NKJV). God wanted Moses to lead the people into a place where they could know Him. This was no easy task, as the people Moses was to lead refused to follow!
Hidden hearts draw back
God told Moses to sanctify the people – to prepare themselves for two days, for on the third the Lord would come down from Mt. Sinai in the sight of all the people. The Israelites had experienced God. Why would they need to prepare? Had they not seen His power? On the third day they realized something very startling. When the glory of God began to present itself the people became terrified. They drew back and told Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear, but let not God speak with us, lest we die” (Exodus 20:18-19, NKJV). The glory of God was about to reveal the hearts of the people. They chose to withdraw so that their hidden sin would not be revealed.
God intended to do more than reveal their sinfulness; He desired to show the people the depth of His love, joy and peace. He wanted so much for them they were willing to receive so little. “Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep My commandments, that it may be well with them and their children forever! (Deuteronomy 5:29, NKJV)
Moses loved the people and wanted the people to experience God’s love and intimacy. After all Moses had been through, this was no natural love.
But because of their unwillingness to go to the mountain, God’s glory, which was intended to for every man, woman and child in the Israelite camp, was not revealed to them. Though they had survived the journey by miracles, signs and wonders, seeing God’s provision at every turn, they refused to go meet God on the mountain. They were impatient, critical, disloyal and resentful against the leadership – a sure sign that their relationship with God was not rooted or based on intimacy, but rather on God providing their needs.
Leading people to intimacy
People today are no different than the children of Israel. Many well-meaning people, who are trying to reach God’s provision and promise, have lost their intimacy with Him. If they feel the provision is not enough or the promise is illusive, they miss the best God offers. Based on their disappointment with God and with church leaders, they scornfully walk out and wander the desert forever.
As Christian leaders our mandate, like Moses’, is to be led and lead others into an intimacy with the Father, founded upon His love and ability. In our quest to minister, it is His presence that keeps our perspective clear and pure. When our hearts are shattered by criticism by those who are supposed to follow our lead, or we are led to choose a path that leads away from popular approval, it is imperative to know God intimately and hold our ground, to visit the mountain and sit in His glory even when we have to be there alone. This is true leadership, true ministry not based on our performance, but on our ability to allow God to work through us, for His light to shine from us.
Evaluate your true focus as a leader. What fuels your passion? Is it the time alone you spend with God renewing and refreshing your innermost spirit? Perhaps you are energized only by miraculous signs and viable points of success. Ask yourself what it you most want to bring to those who you are leading right now. If you have experienced God’s intimacy you already have the love; He will give you the strength.
Next – Part 4: Resisting the Pull of Popularity
