As a leader, you face a lot of great projects to take on, a lot of good directions to go. But in Friday’s first session, Priscilla Shirer reminded the Catalyst crowd to proceed only down those paths on which you sense God’s presence.
“God often shocks you with his plan,” she said. “But when God interrupts your life, will you obey?
In her sermon she unpacked the story of Joshua leading the Israelites across the Jordan. She presented Joshua as a paragon of leadership. What did he do right?
1) He acted immediately in obedience to God. Are you procrastinating? Waiting for God to give the task to someone else? Stop, and follow God without hesitation.
2) He acted fearlessly. The Bible is filled with commands to be not afraid. Joshua faced a daunting task of crossing the Jordan, but he put fear aside and followed God’s leading.
3) He acknowledged the presence of God. Joshua waited for the Ark of the Covenant. He Joshua didn’t say “I’m the leader follow me.” He said “There’s God—let’s follow him.”
4) He anticipated God’s miracles. Joshua told the Israelites to “Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow God will do wonders among you.” We need to take people’s expectations, shakes them up, and tell them to expect God to do things that far exceed our abilities.
“God fills our lives with divine interruptions,” Priscilla said. “You probably never thought you’d be where you are doing what you are doing. But God has interrupted your life and called in you a different direction. Will you follow?”
Priscilla ended her talk on Joshua by recounting the climactic crossing: “Joshua led the people, and that day two million Hebrews crossed the Jordan on dry land.”
Lead like Joshua. You just might find the miraculous happening.
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