UnderGod

5 min read

70 He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens;

71 from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance.

72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.

— Psalm 78:70-72

We can never “box” God in, saying that He always does anything this way or that. God’s ways are high above our ways, His thoughts than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).

At the same time, we do find that in the Scriptures, God often uses people from “disadvantaged” backgrounds and “under-privileged” means. Joseph was like that. Even though he was the most favored of his father, he was sold into slavery. Moses was like that. Even though he was raised as a prince of Egypt, he was always the outsider. David was like that. Not only was he a shepherd (a very lowly position), he was the youngest of his brothers.

Now that I think about it, all those men were shepherds.

But every person that God ever used in a positive way had “integrity of heart.” And they all had “skillful hands,” although we must agree that their human skills (whatever they might be) were enhanced and focused by the Holy Spirit.

So the key to their spiritual impact was never their “skillful hands,” but their “integrity of heart.”

But what was the nature of the integrity they had? Was it not their earnest desire to serve the Lord alone and to serve His purposes alone, even if it meant to surrender their own purposes and desires?

And then, there’s Jesus. He was a carpenter. He came from a humble family with humble means in a humble town. And rumor had it that He was conceived out of wedlock—which, based on human standards, He was.

And He gave Himself over to the Father’s will, even knowing that it would cause great personal suffering—beyond what any of us could ever imagine. And He did so, knowing that it was the Father’s will to redeem a sinful humanity—a humanity that was the cause of His personal suffering.

To die to myself means to live for Christ. But to die to myself causes such an immediate, reflexive response of rebellion—which, again, is why Christ had to go to the cross.

There is no escaping the mercy that has been shown me so that I might die to myself to live for Christ.

Father, You are the Author of my salvation. Where can I turn to without facing the perfection of Your grace in Christ Jesus. Even when I try to turn my back on You, Your mercy stares me in the face. Change my heart, O, God, so that I might live for Your glory. In Jesus’s name. Amen.