Decisions, trust, and authority; what do you think of when you hear these words? Have you ever made a poor decision that led to an issue of trust in someone or something, which then effected the “authority” in some way or form?

I am pretty sure many of us have made good and poor decisions. Sometimes you must be willing to take a chance on a decision, such as buying cryptocurrency. There are about 40,000 people who are millionaires because they chose to buy Bitcoin at the right time(s). Now, if you know anything about the digital currency market, this was tough decision making that paid off. But what if it hadn’t and those that told them to buy are now broke? There might be trust issues and the authority of some of those investment agents just might be lost.

But this isn’t about digital currencies, I am not educated enough in this area, but I do dabble in it a bit, but I am no authority.

As a leader, I am always learning and growing in skill. I believe in being a life-long learner and the overall benefits you can receive from this can be life changing.

A devotional I read today, which I will paraphrase, talked about “authority” and how God’s people learned to trust Him for their provision. Moses learned to depend on God as the ultimate authority. Moses in Exodus 17:4 “Then Moses cried out to the Lord, what am I to do with these people?” “They are almost ready to stone me.” When is the last time you have cried out in desperation? Did you see change? I am confident that you did.

Exodus 17:4 is part of a larger story where the Israelites, led by Moses, are in the desert after their escape from Egypt. They are hot, tired, thirsty and complain to Moses, who in turn cries out to God for help. Moses cries out in desperation. He needs something to happen, and he turns to his God.

Leaders earn their authority, very few have it given to them. God earned the trust of his people and “earned” his authority through several methods:

Production: He made a way for his people to cross the Red Sea safely.

Protection: He eliminated the Egyptian army in the Red Sea.

Provision: He provided manna for the people to eat.

Problem Solving: He produced water from a rock.

As God “earned” his authority, so did Moses. The people heard his cries and as Moses was obedient to God, he too earned his authority.

Had Moses not cried out this story could be very different. What if he just relied on himself? I think quite possibly that he would have been stoned to death. But instead, we have an opportunity to learn from his example and God.

When it comes time to make a difficult decision, will we trust God for provision, or will we rely on ourselves and think we have all the answers? It is safe to say that at times, we have all done things our own way, and they haven’t always seen good results. So maybe the next time you need to “get through” you will cry out and trust the true Authority, our God.  

Thanks for stopping by the fire,

Coach Dennis