After God's Heart

Acts 13:22-23

Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, 'I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.'

As Paul was speaking in Antioch, he began his discourse with a brief history of Israel where he talked about King David. David was a great king not necessarily because of what he did but because of his heart. God had him especially chosen because he loved God. He was a man after my [God's] heart, who will do all my will.' 

God had chosen David while he was still a boy watching his father's flocks. When Samuel came looking for a king among Jesse's sons, Jesse did not even offer Samuel as a candidate. Samuel had to ask specifically if he had another son. Reluctantly David was summoned. Samuel knew he was the one that God wanted. God knew David's heart from his youth up. 

Being a man after God's heart does not mean he was a perfect man. David committed adultery and murder. He made a mess with his children, and yet he was after God's heart. Why? Perhaps it was his quickness to repent or the grief that he felt in his heart. Could it have been the deep yearning for God that he expressed in the psalms? When he was with God, he was all God's. He had singularity and intensity of purpose. When he strayed, he had the same singularity which showed itself in the intensity of the sins he committed. But the God he knew and loved, forgave him because his heart was repentant. He didn't try and rationalize his behavior. He admitted it for what it was. Against You, You only have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight. 

His heart was a heart of prayer. Every day I call upon You, I spread out my hands to you. He was not hindered by time. I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night. My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise. He and God had a goodly amount of one on one time. During the time in his life when he was pursued by the enemies, he prayed constantly. He was dependent on God day and night. Perhaps it was such pressure as this that nurtured his heart for God. 

Such a heart was David's. What is my heart like? Do I rationalize sin? Do I continue in sin because I feel justified? With what intensity do I seek God? Does my soul long, yes, faint for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God? Am I depending on God moment by moment? Do I value my sleep more than being with God in the night watches? 

Father,

I ask that You grow my heart so that it seeks only You in all that I do. I know You have given my everything that pertains to life and godliness. Help me apply it in my life.

In Jesus name,

Amen