Leading by Integrity of Heart & the Skillfulness of Hands

By: Jacquie Tyre

Recently, the Lord brought me to a fascinating verse that is

speaking to me, personally and for ministry leaders, in general. 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 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 like David did. 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: Integrity 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." 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)

I pray we will all press on to become leaders who care for others by
integrity of heart and lead by skillfulness of the work we are
charged to fulfill -- for His glory and the advancement of His
Kingdom!

© Jacquie Tyre 2008