Psalm 78:68-72 - August 15, 2009

Ps 78:68-72 "Mount Zion, which he loved. 69 He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth that he established forever. 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." NIV

Where does God find a leader? Does God look in the palaces of the rich or the classrooms of the elite schools of the earth? No, God looks in out of the way places, places such as the little town of Bethlehem, or a village called Nazareth. He looks in the fields amongst the sheep or the carpenter’s shop along the road or maybe at the seaside amongst the fishing boats where the men are repairing their nets. Maybe even amongst the corrupted business men of the city or the violent haters of Christ. God is perplexing for His ways at times because He chooses the weak things, the base things of the world to put to silence the wisdom of the wise. God takes the lowly and imparts His Holy Spirit to them, transforming them into men and women of a different kind than the world can understand. God constantly chooses those that the world overlooks. His eye is searching for the perfect vessel for personal transformation and then He molds them into vessels of Honor.
Could God be searching for you today? The Lord found a man amongst the sheep. He was a young man, a man overlooked by his own father, a man who spent more time alone than amongst the great. The Lord found a man who knew how to worship. The Lord found a man who knew how to serve faithfully with no audience, no praise of men. The Lord found a man who faced his fears and took a stand against the lion and the bear because of his faithful commitment to protect the sheep under his charge. True greatness is found in the character of a man’s heart, not the extent of his talents. God’s delight in His servant David was centered around the fact that David’s heart looked a lot like God’s heart. God even said so in Acts 13:22 “After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'” You see men with great ability are able to do great things but they are not always willing to do the right things. David’s qualification was that God saw in Him a man who would do the right things with the position of influence He had been entrusted with.
Many men use their positions of power and influence to serve their own agendas. God is looking for those who will live submitted to His will and obedient to His purposes. In David the Lord found such a man. What will He find when He looks at you. II Ch. 16:9 teaches us that the eyes of the Lord are ever searching the earth to find those whose hearts are truly devoted to God. He is searching for that man or woman who will live yielded, that person whose primary agenda is to live pleasing to the Lord, and when He finds such a man He places His Spirit upon them and begins to shape a train them for His purposes. He takes them from the most unusual places and molds them for His purposes. Did David know what He was getting into? Did Joseph understand that slavery and imprisonment were part of the plan God had ordained for him? Did Moses realize that raising his sheep and his family in the desert was not the end but in reality the beginning? God’s means of shaping a leader is contrary to our understanding. Perhaps the wilderness that you are in is really God’s bible college and the trial you are facing is just your next lesson on the path to great things in God. Trust in Him and know that He is shaping you for His purposes and for His glory. Yield to Him today and embrace the work that He is doing in you to make you a vessel of honor!