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The Lord brought me to a fascinating verse this past weekend that is speaking to me, personally and for us as a ministry. The verse is found in Psalm 78, that you will likely recall addresses the journey of the people of Israel through times when they fused to heed the commands of the Lord, and acted rebelliously time after time. In this Psalm, the message is clear -- do not put the Lord your God to the test - do not murmur, complain, or refuse to acknowledge His commands - be careful to not rebel against Him through stubbornness and stiff-necked self-will -- there are consequences. Even so, this Psalm reveals how time and time again, even when the children of Israel rebelled against the Lord, He responded with kindness, giving opportunity after opportunity for them to line-up with His best plans. This doesn't mean that the Lord simply allowed rebellion to go unchecked. No, He responded in perfect love to correct, adjust, and woo them back to Himself. And, He never gave up!

The Psalm progresses to God choosing David to be king over Israel, taking him from tending the sheep to the place to "feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance." At this point, this psalm points out some very important insights into the Lord's assignment and requirement for leaders. Notice that God positions David to "feed Jacob (the supplanter, the rebellious) his people, and Israel (those who have had their strength broken and come into the place of surrender to the Lord) his inheritance"? David was not given only the compliant, the submissive, the agreeable, those broken-by-an-encounter with the "angel of the Lord." No, he had to lead the self-willed and the submissive.

The verse that has struck me so deeply this week is at the very end. Psalm 78:72 reads:

"So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, And guided them with his skillful hands."

What I am hearing in this is yet another reminder that God is looking for leaders who will lead according like this. Remember that scripture says that David was a man after God's own heart. He wasn't perfect; his faults are recorded right alongside his victories. But, he was a man who pursued knowing the Lord with a whole heart, and to lead according to what God revealed to him.

Let me close these thoughts with a few points to draw us all into a higher level of leadership -- no matter what level of leadership we are in (remember we all lead somebody, so this applies to all of us!). As leaders we are to:

• Shepherd - this comes from the Hebrew word, "ra'ah" (meaning to pasture, tend, graze, fee, to shepherd, of a ruler or teacher, as a herdsman; it also carries the idea of being an associate with, be a friend of, to be companions, even to be a special friend. As leaders, we are not to be aloof, inaccessible, but rather to be caring, concerned, companions for the good of those they lead.

• Shepherd them according to the integrity: this comes from the word "tom" (H8552) meaning integrity, completeness, fullness, innocence, simplicity, uprightness, perfect/perfection (not in the sense of flawless, but maturity, wholeness). As leaders, we need to be people of wholeness - without cracks or inconsistencies between what we say and who we are; we need to walk in pursuit of healing and wholeness so that what flows out of us in innocent and without guile.

• Shepherd them according to the integrity of (our) heart: The heart is the inner most part of our being, our mind, knowledge, understanding, the way we think, our reflection & memory, our conscience, and is the seat of our appetites, emotions, passions and courage. As leaders, our hearts must be whole, not seared or hardened by sin or the wounds of the past; our desires must be pure, not looking after our own interests, but after the best interest of those we are called to lead. We must be people of excellence in knowledge, understanding, council, and wisdom.

• Shepherd them according to the integrity of (our) heart, and guide: Simply put, this is to lead, to guide, to bring, to govern, even to straighten. Leaders, we cannot be timid or overbearing in leading, but we must lead and guide.

• Shepherd them according to the integrity of (our) heart, and guide them by the skillfulness: This phrase points to the understanding, intelligence, skill, insight, discernment, and knowledge that is needed to teach, lead, and guide according to the Lord's good pleasure. As leaders, we must always be in pursuit of improving our skills and understanding of the ways of the Lord, and in the ways of excellence in everything we do. He is worthy of our very best -- and the people we are set in place to lead need us to be filled with great skill.

• Shepherd them according to the integrity of (our) heart, and guide them by the skillfulness of (our) hands. The word for "hands" is kaph (H3709) and it means "palm, hand, sole, palm of the hand, hollow or flat of the hand." A couple other words of interest in the expanded definition include power and hollow- of thigh-joints. (That caused me to pause thinking of Jacob being touched in his thigh-joint by the Angel of the Lord!) Leaders, our hands carry power - the way we touch people can either encourage and edify, or wound and destroy. We must be careful to reach out with hands that are skillful in each situation and with each person to lead in purity of heart and purpose to see Christ's kingdom advanced and His life demonstrated -- serving our generation according to the will of God even as David did. (see Acts 13:36)

It is a pleasure and an honor to serve the Lord with each one of you! Remember -- the best is yet to come!

For His Glory,

Jacquie Tyre

© Jacquie Tyre 2008