Leadership Theology: The Turn, Gaze, and Freedom
When God has things to teach you, He brings it in from several different places. Today, a simple reading of Psalm 80 continued this thought of leadership theology.
In my last post, we looked at the “Titus Blueprint” and challenged the headcount trap—the cultural myth that your leadership is only as significant as the size of your staff or the square footage of your office. But recognizing the trap is only half the battle. How do we actually escape it? How do we protect our souls from the constant, subtle pull of title-envy, metrics-obsession, and the need for corporate validation?
The answer is not found in modern management theory or a new productivity hack. It’s found in an ancient, repeating chorus tucked inside Psalm 80. Three times in that single psalm, Asaph cries out a desperate refrain:
“Restore us, O God; cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved!”
According to Spurgeon, this psalm is a prayer for national and spiritual revival that begins by acknowledging that we are broken and that returning to Him is the only remedy to receive diving favor. Note that - we have to admit we are broken first! Clearly, the modern-day view of leadership is broken, but have you personally confessed that fact?
When we unpack the original Hebrew behind this prayer (and I am by no means an expert), we find a three-step theological sequence that serves as a manifesto for a leader’s soul. It boils down to three simple, counter-cultural actions: The Turn, The Gaze, and The Freedom.
1. The Turn (Shuv)
The psalm begins with a plea for restoration: “Restore us, O God.” In our modern vocabulary, “restore” sounds like fixing an old building or repairing a broken organizational structure. But the Hebrew root word here is Shuv, which literally means “to turn back” or “to return.”
Furthermore, the grammatical structure used here is causative, meaning that it is not something that we can do alone. In short, the psalmist is literally asking the King of kings and Lord of lords, “Cause us to turn back.”
As leaders, our first step toward health is a radical reorientation of our hearts. We have to stop looking at the world, our competitors, or our industry peers for our definitions of success. When we fixate on worldly metrics—team size, budgets, and titles—we are looking in the wrong direction. Shuv is a moment of deep recognition and repentance where we turn our backs on the world’s hierarchy and turn our faces entirely to the Source of our calling.
2. The Gaze (Owr)
Once we turn around, where do we look? The psalm continues with his ask: “cause Your face to shine.”
The Hebrew root for shine is Owr, meaning “to become luminous, to kindle, or to break day.” In the ancient Near East, when a king or ruler had his face shine toward you, it meant you had his favor, approval, and pleasure. It is a direct callback to the famous Aaronic Blessing in Number 6: “The Lord make His face shine upon you.”
Think about the profound relief of this reality. When you turn away from the exhausting demand to impress the crowd, you catch the gaze of the Father. And what do you see? You see a face that is already shining with favor toward you - not because of what we have done but, simply because of Who He is and how much He loves us.
Your leadership validation doesn’t come from a stellar annual review, well-earned promotion, growing team, or plush office. It comes from living under the bright, smiling approval of God’s face. When His gaze becomes your primary focus, the opinions of onlookers lose their power to define you and your leadership.
Remember, we serve an Audience of One!
3. The Freedom (Yasha)
Finally, the sequence hits its climax: “...and we shall be saved.”
Our modern ears hear “saved” and automatically think exclusively of eternity. But the Hebrew root is Yasha is different, In fact, it shares the same root behind the names Joshua and Jesus and literally means “to be open, wide, free, or delivered out of a tight space.”
When we captivate ourselves with the organizational chart trap or headcount lie, we are living in a very “tight,” suffocating space. It is a prison of comparison, ego, and constant anxiety over whether we are “important” enough.
But look at the divine sequence: When we turn (Shuv) our hearts back to God, and lock our gaze (Owr) onto the light of His smiling approval, we are instantly delivered into freedom (Yasha). We are brought out into a wide-open space of spiritual safety where the world’s criticisms can no longer box us in.
Look at what David Jeremiah said in his book Life Wide Open: "You have inside you the capacity to invest your mental, emotional, and spiritual gifts in a way that glorifies God, impacts the world, and satisfies your own soul." That’s brilliant leadership theology.
Leading from the Wide-Open Space
True alignment never happens when we finally get the title or the direct reports we think we deserve. Alignment happens when we realize that an empty office can still be a wide-open space of immense kingdom freedom. When you are freed from the need to manage an image, you are finally free to actually lead people.
Stop measuring what’s behind your desk, and start resting in Who is ahead of you.
Let’s take our leadership cue from Psalm 80: turn your heart, lock your gaze, and step into the wide-open space. After all, if you want to lead better, you have to live better—and you cannot live wide open while hiding in a tight box of comparison
How have you experienced the “tight space” of comparison in your own leadership journey? Let’s talk about how we can encourage one another to walk in true freedom in the comments below.