Christian Devotional – December 31, 2018

Following. A lot of people have made a big deal about the importance of leadership in today’s culture, but without followers, there would be no leaders. Now, even Jacob becomes a follower. Read Genesis 46:8-28.

Now he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out the way before him to Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen.
Genesis 46:28 NASB
https://bible.com/bible/100/gen.46.28.NASB

As the Bible lists all the people who are making this trip from Canaan into Egypt, we see them following Jacob into this new country. Yet Jacob is simply following God’s command to him that we read about yesterday.

Now, Jacob even follows his son Judah. Judah leads the way into exactly the area they should be. Why did Jacob choose him? Simple, he had been there before.

Following is not about age or maturity, or even about entitlement. Following is identifying who has been where we want to go. Once we identify that person, then we simply follow where they have been. Leadership is about experience going where other people want to be and then being willing to lead them where they want to go.

Are we a leader when we need to be? For the right reasons, like Judah in our passage today. He wasn’t the oldest, but he had been where Jacob wanted to go and was willing to go back there.

Are we a follower when we need to be? Jacob, the head of the entire household, recognized he needed to follow someone who had been where he wanted to go and it didn’t matter that that person was his son, he was willing to follow.