God Cares for His Leaders

I am always impressed by the leadership strength and leadership struggles of Moses. No matter how many times I have read his story in the early books of the Bible, I am impressed again and again. And of course, as with all Bible stories, the main character in the story of Moses is not Moses but God! All of the Bible is God's story.
For some reason, Miriam and Aaron, his sister and brother, become dissatisfied that Moses occupies the prime place of leadership in Israel. This is not the first or last time that there has been competition and jealousy over who should occupy the senior position of leadership. They use the issue of Moses marriage, of which they disapprove, as a time to challenge his leadership. They claim to have equal access, or equal standing before God as leaders of Israel. (Numbers 12) They apparently want more recognition, if not more power.
Now it does not surprise me that Moses is challenged by those serving under him. Neither their criticism nor competition should surprise anyone who has studied leadership or served for long in a leadership position. But I am impressed by the fact that Moses does not defend himself under their attack, for it would have been natural and logical for him to do so. (It may have been Joshua who adds an editorial comment about the humility of Moses. 12:3)
What is even more impressive is the fact that God defends Moses and directly confronts Aaron and Miriam. God knows who He wants to lead his people. And He can defend those leaders. The challenge for us - as it was with Moses, David and other biblical leaders - is deciding when attacked: is this the rare time when I should defend myself, or more likely, is this a time when I wait for God to defend me?
If you are a leader in Christian circles, sooner or later, you will be criticized and attacked. May God give you the wisdom, self control and the humility to simply be quiet and let God (perhaps through others or circumstances) defend you.