While visiting an Air Force base in Florida, I was asked to go to the Pensacola Naval school and conduct a presentation to an Air Force detachment located at the school. I had no idea where I was going, so I followed an associate of mine behind his rental car. He knew the way there very well, and when it came time to leave...he sped right off, and I played follow the leader. I stayed behind him as best I could, but it turned out to be a modern version of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. He really knew how to get around the swampy roads and highways Florida-including skillful maneuvering in and out of lanes. I had only one hope of getting to my goal - staying very close to the man who was leading me.

While studying in II Chronicles 23, I found a story that just reached off the page and grabbed my heart. It's found in the story of young King Joash coming to power in ancient Judah. His father the king had died . . . and the king's mother made her move to get the throne. She destroyed the whole royal family of Judah - except for one. Another family member had rescued the baby of the family, Joash, and hid him away for years.

A godly high priest organized a revolt against the queen - the wrong person was on the throne. And he gathered a force to surround Joash until they could eliminate the queen and put the rightful ruler on the throne. That's the context for this order to the men who surrounded the rightful king - and, in a way, an order for all of us who call ourselves followers of King Jesus. Paraphrased, II Chronicles 23:7 says "stay close to the king wherever he goes."

We live in a world where an evil pretender is running things. For this reason it is even more important that we serve the rightful King. And our King will prevail. And what are our orders as His followers? To go wherever He goes. Not to go where we want to go or choose our own path, but to ask where He wants us to go and go in faith. The prophet Nephi put it very simply, that he would follow his King and Savior, when he said, "I will go and do as the Lord has commanded." (1 Nephi 3:7)

It's like that day when I was following my leader to an unknown destination across the city. I didn't pick the route that looked best to me . . . in fact, I was totally open to whatever my leader wanted to do. To go wherever he went. My plans, my preferences didn't matter, my choice of what road to take didn’t matter. I was totally neutral about what route we took. My command was to see where my leader was going, get behind him, and go there.

That is exactly what it means to be a follower of Christ. If we tend to be a rigid, independent, a person with a mind of our own, a control freak - well, we might tend to have a strong agenda of our own. And we may have a hard time following leadership.

We need to know where the King is leading us with our career . . . with our business . . . with a son or daughter . . . with our spouse . . . with our testimony . . . with our future . . . with each decision we make. This is the great adventure of following Christ. Of course, we make plans, always seeking where He is going. Yes, we organize and schedule our lives on paper. But we stand ready to change direction at any time . . . because our leader doesn't stand still . . . His leadership is like that car I was following through the back roads of Florida - dynamic, not static, ever changing and always keeping me just behind him, never quite out of sight. Often not surprising, not predictable, but ever knowing the right path to lead me to my desired destination.

My only hope of reaching my destination that day was to stay real close to the one who knew where I needed to go.

We cannot afford a day away from our leader, our King . . . a glance away from Him could stray us on our path. What matters most in our life is staying close to the Lord and becoming a true follower of he who will bring us closer to Him.

We serve the rightful King. And our mission is clear. STAY CLOSE TO

THE KING WHEREVER HE GOES.