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Choosing a Leader – Genesis 12:1-4

In a speech to West Point cadets following the Persian Gulf War, General H. Norman Schwarzkopf put into perspective not only our strength in the military but also our strength in business, church, and family. Addressing the young men and women who will play a leading role in our country’s military future, Schwarzkopf said: “In the final analysis, you should never forget that the airplanes don’t fly, the tanks don’t run, the ships don’t sail, the missiles don’t fire, unless the sons and daughters of America make them do it. It’s just that simple.”

Good leaders are hard to find, particularly when one does not know what specific qualities to look for. However, the Lord knows what He is looking for. In the early history of man, our ancestors became so vile that they no longer wanted to retain the knowledge of God in their minds (Romans 1:28). Rather than allow the entire race of man to plummet into eternal punishment, the Lord intervened. He chose one man, Abraham, through whom He would create a nation, Israel, who would be His undeniable testimony to the world, and through whom He would send our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. But why did the Lord choose Abraham? The prophet Nehemiah gives us the answer saying, “Thou art the Lord God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur…And foundest his heart faithful before thee…” (Nehemiah 9:7-8). Abraham had a faithful heart to believe whatever God told him and to act in immediate obedience. When God promised to make from his seed a great nation through whom He could bring blessing to the entire world, Abram took God at His Word. He obediently “departed” from the heathen in his family to journey to a promised land yet unspecified (Genesis 12:1-4). After years of Sarah bearing no children, he enquired of the Lord how and when God would fulfill His previous promise. In response, the Lord confirmed that Abraham’s seed with Sarah would become as the stars without number. “And he believed the Lord; and He counted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).

Proper candidates to be used as God’s servants must cultivate a similar faithful heart to believe whatever God says, hold His Word as their final authority in all matters, and proceed in obedience. God is looking for a few good men and women. Will you choose to be one of them?