Leadership: Who needs it?!

So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart,
And guided them with his skillful hands.
Psalm 78:72

Psalm 78 is speaking of King David who ruled God's people with integrity and guided them with skill.  As I read this verse, I was moved to pray for the leaders of my country, state, city, neighborhood,  church, workplace, and for my husband as well. 

I grew up without much appreciation for authority.  I am fiercely independent (having grown up as an only child who didn't need to negotiate with siblings) and don't usually enjoy having anyone tell me what to do.  The older I get, the more I see the importance of leadership.  I notice how poor leadership, or a lack of it, effects everyone.  I'm aware that when I am under good leadership and submit myself to it, I benefit (the team benefits/ goals are met and bonds are strengthened/ much is accomplished).  I'm starting to really respect those in authority, especially those who lead with skill and integrity.  I'm beginning, finally, to understand what it means to live in community, and to enjoy it!  Being of a rather melancholy temperament by nature, liking people, and liking working together with them just hasn't automatically been something I've desired.  I'm really changing and growing in that department.  I am becoming more of a team-player in mid-life (well, better late than never).  This fact motivates me to pray for those who are placed in positions over me, and not to take them for granted. 

Lord, give us godly rulers who have integrity, shepherd's hearts, and skillful hands.  So much rises and falls on leadership.  Teach us to do good to our leaders and submit to them.  Let them keep watch over our souls with joy and not with grief (Hebrews 13:17).  Thank you for our Great Shepherd and Leader who equips us to do His will, working in us to please Him (Hebrews 13:20-21).

But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work (I Thess. 5:12)

What if I forget?

 The sons of Ephraim were archers equipped with bows,
Yet they turned back in the day of battle.
They did not keep the covenant of God
And refused to walk in His law;  They forgot His deeds
And His miracles that He had shown them...  
...Therefore the LORD heard and was full of wrath;
And a fire was kindled against Jacob
And anger also mounted against Israel,
Because they did not believe in God
And did not trust in His salvation.
               Psalm 78:9-22

He brings us out of bondage with miracles and wonders and gives us weapons that are divinely powerful.  He requires us to stand firm, with the armor of Ephesians (chapter 6), and to fight the good fight, contending for the faith.  The sons of Ephraim were equipped as well, "Yet, they turned back in the day of battle."   They forgot His wonderful works.  What a lack of faith!

How often am I like them?  I hate conflict.  I turn back and give up.  I forget God's miracles and past faithfulness--I lose faith.  What is the result for Ephraim?  They are called "rebels" for putting God to the test.  "They did not believe in God and did not trust in His salvation."  Verse 33 says, "So He brought their days to an end in futility and their years in sudden terror." 

I'm glad that's not the end of the story.  God's people suffered, and many died, but of those who returned to Him in repentance, they discovered something I have come to know in my own life.

 But He, being compassionate, forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them;
And often He restrained His anger
And did not arouse all His wrath.
Thus He remembered that they were but flesh,
A wind that passes and does not return.
       Psalm 78: 38-39

Even when I am unfaithful, God is faithful.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us.  He promises, "I am YHWH your God, and there is no other; and my people will never be put to shame."   I need to remember His wonderful works, fix my eyes on the author and perfecter of faith, so that I do not grow weary and lose heart.  Don't let me turn back in the day of battle, Lord.  Be faithful to me and help me to stand.

 "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." (I Cor. 15:58)

When I Feel Overwhelmed, What Should I Do?

 

For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life to the ground;
He has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead.
Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me;
My heart is appalled within me.  I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Your doings;
I muse on the work of Your hands.
I stretch out my hands to You;
My soul longs for You, as a parched land.
                         Selah.
                Psalm 143:3-6

When I am persecuted, crushed, in a "dark place", overwhelmed, what is my response to be?  What was David's response?  He remembered the days of old and meditated on God's doings, the work of His hands.  What days of old?  Well, it's interesting that the psalms and the prophets seem to constantly remind God's people of one particular event in their common history.  Take Psalm 77:16-20 for example:

The waters saw You, O God;
The waters saw You, they were in anguish;
The deeps also trembled.
The clouds poured out water;
The skies gave forth a sound;
Your arrows flashed here and there.
The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
The lightnings lit up the world;
The earth trembled and shook.
Your way was in the sea
And Your paths in the mighty waters,
And Your footprints may not be known.
You led Your people like a flock
By the hand of Moses and Aaron.

We have the same common history, if we have been grafted in to Israel.  (For information on what "grafted in" means, see http://www.graftedin.com/graftedin.html). As God's chosen people, dearly loved, we are led by the hand, not of Moses and Aaron, but of Jesus, our Savior.  He rescued us from our slavery and bondage and freed us to follow Him to the Promised Land.   When we feel overwhelmed, let us remember the seas that God has parted for us in the past, and most importantly, remember how He has set us free and saved us.  If He has been faithful in the past, taking care of our greatest need (to be reconciled to Himself) will He not faithfully bring us through this current set of circumstances, and finally, bring us home?

Where are My Eyes?

For my eyes are toward You, O YHWH, the Lord;
In You I take refuge; do not leave me defenseless.

                       Psalm 141:8

How many times are my eyes on my circumstances, as Peter's were when he walked out on the water and then began to sink?  Where do I look for help when I am distressed?  Looking to the world; self-help books, TV personalities,  401K holdings, or looking within myself; mustering my own resources, following my heart, etc.. these ultimately prove to be fruitless.  On what do I dwell when I am overwhelmed by trouble?  

"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."  YHWH is the source of all truth, honor, righteousness, purity, loveliness, and worth.  If I look to Him, and Him alone, I find help (Ps. 121:1-4).  Let's fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of faith, so that we will endure, not lose heart, and find true refuge.  He will not leave us defenseless.