“Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. (Psalm 77:19-20 – NIV 2011)

The Psalmist writes what I think are two profound insights. First, he sees the hand of Moses and Aaron as the hand of God leading his people. Now I know that these two were unique prophets of God who spoke to him directly, but I still think there is a lesson here. A true Godly leader is reading their Bible, praying, asking for wisdom from others, and doing their best to lead the way God directs them. If they do that, then one day, people will look back and not be able to distinguish the hand of God from the leaders he allowed to lead.

Second, I am amazed how the people came to view the crossing of the Red Sea. Every reflection in the Bible sees the parting of the sea as a mighty work of God’s hand. If you read your Bible, you might remember that the people of Israel followed Moses out of Egypt, but eventually, Pharoah took off after them. As his armies get closer, the people turn to Moses and say, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?” (Exodus 14:11 – NIV 2011)

At the moment, people did not see God leading them, and Moses was an idiot. It wasn’t until they looked back on the event that people saw this as a mighty work of God. At the time, they were mad, disappointed, and thought they were doomed.

Godly leadership is in tune with God’s direction and leading even when it might not entirely make sense. They are willing to risk being thought of as crazy to make a move the way they see God directing them. Sure, there are times people have misunderstood Godly leading, and things did not go well, but then again, we might not know the complete outcome for years. Sometimes even failing ministries have impacted one person who did a mighty work that changed many people for Jesus.

I believe Godly leadership is seen when people listen to God and lead people forward. It might not be clear what God is doing now, but that should not stop them. I think one day, we will look back and see that the unseen hands were doing something beyond our understanding.