Patti Burris

1 Samuel 13:14

14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”

Acts 13:22

²² After removing Saul, he made David their king. God 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.’

God called David a man after His own heart. What an honor! I know what your thinking. David was a great King and a great man of God, but would God say that about anyone living today? David WAS a great King and a great man of God, but he was not perfect. David committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband Uriah killed. David was full of lust and jealousy. Not the kind of guy you would think of as a man after God’s own heart, right? The story of David gives me hope. If God still considered David a man after His own heart, then maybe there is a chance that God will consider me a woman after His own heart. God knows that I’m not perfect, but I try. I have found 6 characteristics of David that have helped me in my own pursuit of being a woman after God’s own heart:

1. Faith- David had faith in God. David trusted God with his life. In 1 Samuel 17:34 David tells King Saul, “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Every other Israelite man was shaking in his shoes at the sight of Goliath, including King Saul. I have read that David was around 15 years old when he killed Goliath with his slingshot and stones. Would I at age 47 have that same kind of faith in a similar situation? Would you?
2. Love for God’s Law- David loved God’s Law. David is credited for writing over half of the 150 Psalms in the Bible. In many of them he gives us a glimpse of how much God’s law and commands mean to him. Psalm 119:47-48 says, “for I delight in your commands because I love them. I reach out for your commands, which I love, that I may meditate on your decrees.” Psalm 119:97 says, “Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.” David showed his love of God’s law by meditating on it and by obeying God’s commands. How often do I meditate on God’s law? How often do you?
3. Thankful- David was thankful. In Psalm 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. David was all about giving thanks to God and living in a state of praise to the Almighty. In Psalm 138 David pours out praises for the God he loves. David knew that he was blessed and he lived in gratitude to the God who had given him so much. Do I give thanks enough for all that God has given me? Do you?
4. Repentant- David was repentant. David knew that he had sinned against God. In Psalm 51 David begs for forgiveness for committing adultery and murdering Uriah. Am I repentant when I sin? Are you?
5. Obedient- David was obedient. In Acts 13:22 God says of David, “he will do everything I want him to do.” God knew that David would obey His commands. Psalm 119:34 Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart. David lived his life in obedience to God. Do I live my life in obedience to God? Do you?
6. Passionate- David was passionate about God. 2 Samuel 6:14 Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, Verse 16 As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart. David was not embarrassed to dance before the Lord. He was passionate and he didn’t care who saw him. He was not going to apologize for celebrating before the Lord. Am I passionate about God? Am I to embarrassed to dance before the Lord with all my might? Do I take time to leap and dance before the Lord in celebration? How do you show your passion for God? Are you to embarrassed to leap and dance before the Lord?

WAS DAVID PERFECT?

I think we have already established that David was NOT perfect. David had lust in his heart when he saw Bathsheba on her rooftop. That lust led him to commit adultery and murder. He deceived Uriah and plotted his murder. Oh, and we can’t forget the time when David ran away in fear because Saul wanted to kill him. The guy had killed a giant with a slingshot and a stone and here he was running in fear from Saul. Where was his faith then? No, David was NOT perfect.

OUR HOPE

David’s imperfection gives me hope. David was a sinner and God still called him a man after His own heart. I am a sinner. I live a life of imperfection. I daily mess things up and have to ask forgiveness from God and others. I still have the hope of being called a woman after God’s own heart. That is what I live for. Following David’s lead, I do my best to live a life that glorifies God.

Never think that God can’t call you a man or woman after His own heart. Never think that you are to far gone to be blessed by the Father. Look at David’s life and know that if God blessed David, God will bless you too. What can you do today to implement the characteristics of David in your own life? What is one step you can take today to become a man or woman after God’s own heart? God will bless your attempts to glorify Him.