Exodus 13:17-22 (NKJV) 17 Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” 18 So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea.

Exodus 13:17-22 (NKJV) And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt. 19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you.”

Exodus 13:17-22 (NKJV) 20 So they took their journey from Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness. 21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. 22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.

Exodus 13:17-22

Just recently, Republicans Ted Cruz and Rand Paul made it official that they will both run for President in 2016 This past week, Hillary Clinton made it official that she would run on the Democratic ticket More and more are throwing their hat in

The idea of announcing so early is to get out in front of the other candidates These men and women want to get a head start They also wish to be leaders, which is why they want to be out in front of their party races

In order to lead, one must be out in front A leader should be one who leads by example, getting their hands dirty with the work One cannot lead if they are never seen by those who are looking to follow

Like it or not, we are called to be leaders in this world Paul said that we are not to be conformed to this world, but rather transformed (Rom. 12:2) That means that we are to be different from those around us

Aren’t leaders different? Don’t we usually hold our leaders to a higher standard? The same is expected of us (Jn. 17:14-15) Jesus said that we are the salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13)

We are also the light of the world (Matt. 5:14-16) We are to let that light shine so that others may see God They must see us if they are going to see God living through us

All of this implies that we are to be different from the rest of the world When you are different, you stand out from others Leaders are normally those who stand out from others around them (in a positive way)

When God led the children of Israel, He led from the front Exodus 13:17-22 Here we see several things about the leadership of God We should consider that God led from the front (v. 21)

God was leading a group of people who did not know what to do nor what was expected of them just yet We are to be leaders among the world, a group of people who may not know what God expects of them in their lives The prospect of helping others should excite us!

God led from the front because of His knowledge (v ) He knew that there was war in the land of the Philistines That knowledge that God had, Moses did not possess Therefore He led them around

God also led from the front because of His love (v ) God’s love coupled with the knowledge was why God did not lead them around by the way of war We too are to love others (Matt. 22:39) and therefore lead them out of danger

Often times we have what it takes to lead, we just fail to see it when our time comes to do so Moses had what it took to be a leader for God When God approached him about it, he only saw his flaws and shortcomings

The Bible says about Ezra that he “prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel” (Ezra 7:10) Ezra didn’t just prepare himself for his own sake, but also to teach others

We need to prepare ourselves for when the opportunity presents itself That means knowing God’s will for our lives and for the lives of others We need diligent study of His word, a prayerful attitude, and a eye for opportunity