It has been said that before one can become a good leader, he must become a good follower. Also, everybody is responsible to someone; everybody is given directions to be followed. And the family is the place where those lessons must be first learned.

Joseph became a great leader in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh in authority. How did Joseph rise to such a prominent position as a leader? Obviously, it was God’s blessing above all. But it was also the fact that Joseph had learned to honor his father, Jacob, as a young man—lessons that guided his rise to prominence in Egypt. Joseph wasn’t perfect as a young man, but he did honor his father. When he was seventeen years old, Jacob sent him on a mission to find his brothers who were tending the flocks at Shechem. Joseph replied, “Here I am”—or “I’m ready”; “I will go”; “Very well.” No questions, no hesitancy, and no discussion. When his father called him, Joseph obeyed.

When God calls us, our response must be the same: “Here am I! Send me” (Isaiah 6:8).

Beware of reasoning about God’s word—obey it!
Oswald Chambers