Leaders Wait

Joshua 3:17  "Meanwhile, the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed by. They waited there until the whole nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan on dry ground."

Joshua 4:14 "That day the Lord made Joshua a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites, and for the rest of his life they revered him as much as they had revered Moses."


This scripture paints a beautiful picture of leadership and it also presents one of the greatest challenges that a leader faces. The bible says they waited until the whole nation crossed over. The job of a leader is to accomplish the vision of God through the lives of Gods people. It is always quicker and easier to travel alone, but it you go alone you may be a pioneer but you are not a leader. Leaders take people with them.

The natural tendency of a leader is to go, go and go, but our job is not just to get to the promise land. Our job is to help others get there too. Sometimes the most important thing that we can do as leaders is wait. Waiting for our people to cross over, waiting on God's perfect timing, waiting on our team to regain their footing. So many leaders run ahead and they leave their people unprotected and unfulfilled.

I will be honest with you, I hate to wait, I see the prize and I am willing to pay the price to get there and I am ready today. The only problem is that all of those statements revolve around me, I hate to wait, I am willing and I am ready. But leadership is not about the leader, it is about the people.

Impatient leaders are selfish leaders and many times they sacrifice their people for their success which is a perverted form of leadership. The scripture goes on to tell us that on that day Joshua became a great leader in the eyes of the people and they revered him for the rest of his life. One of the greatest qualities of leadership is the ability to wait, not drag your feet but strategically wait for the good of your people.