Who’s Following You?

I’ve heard it said that you are not a leader if no one is following you.  And while some of you might not consider yourself a leader, it doesn’t change the fact that you have somebody following you. Every generation has a generation before them and one coming behind them.  It’s the way God intended. But whether or not we recognize it, embrace it, or even steward it, doesn’t change the fact that we have an entire generation (or two) coming behind us, and many of them have completely lost their way.We don’t have to watch the news very long or read the headlines very often to see that our culture has lost its way, and so has the generation behind us. When I look at this younger generation, there is a fraction of them that brings me great excitement and anticipation for the future.  Many of them are seeking God with all their hearts and serving Him to their greatest capacity~ and that brings me great HOPE! But far more of them are not. They are walking away from God, away from church, away from their families, and away from their previous generation’s once held morals and standards, searching for something new, different, real and meaningful. Perhaps they are doing this because they feel as if the generation ahead of them has failed them. Or has forgotten them. Or maybe even lost their own way in the craziness of their busy lives. I don’t have all the answers as to how they’ve lost their way... I just know they have because I see it in the faces of the younger generation every single day.Without knowing how to communicate it or even recognizing what they are truly looking for, this younger generation is begging us to show them the Way.  To give them the answers for a purposeful life. To lead by example how God and people are worth committing to and to show by our love that there really is something worth living for.There’s a verse in Psalm 71 that speaks exactly to my point.  It’s actually a prayer from the Psalmist in his day and a prayer that I now pray regularly over my own life:

“God, give me grace to demonstrate to the next generation all of Your mighty miracles, and Your excitement to show them Your magnificent power!”  (Psalm 71:18 TPT)

Perhaps we’ve lost our excitement.  Perhaps we’ve lost some passion. Just perhaps we’ve lost some of our own faith… and belief… and hope… and grace.

“God, GIVE ME GRACE to demonstrate to the generation that is following behind me that You are still a God that performs miracles! Let my excitement and passion for You be contagious to all I come in contact with! And allow Your magnificent power to be displayed mightily in my life, so that the generation who is following me will see a true, real, mighty, powerful and faithful God! Amen.”

I hope that is your prayer too!  If not, make it your prayer today.A generation is depending on us to show them the right way, even if they don’t say it with their words.  They are begging us to do so with their eyes… and their hearts… and their souls.Just look around you.  Stop focusing on your own life and what you do or do not have.  Stop looking at only yourself. Lift up your eyes to look into the eyes of a generation that is depending on us and a God who is asking of us... to show them Him!  His ways, His heart, His grace, His forgiveness, His acceptance, His LOVE.We have a responsibility from God to do just that and I truly believe that one day we will give an answer as to how we stewarded the generation that God put in our lives to lead them to Him.Look behind you. Who’s following you?  And how are you leading them? Even by doing nothing, you are leading them somewhere… just probably not the place that God desires for them or you to go. Make a decision today, a commitment to God ~ to have the GRACE to lead the generation behind you well! And in doing so, our world and all of eternity will be the better for it!!