There are not many people in the bible that are known to be men after God’s own heart. Some are known to be devout, upright, full of the spirit and pleasing to God but not many, actually no one else can boast that title except for David. If you know a bit about David in the bible then you know he was not necessarily the most righteous person. Indeed, David was the king of Israel; he had killed a giant named Goliath with a sling and a stone in his youth, thus saving Israel from his enemies; he was also a sinner, having committed adultery and murder. With such a pedigree, one might ask, how is such a man called by God himself a man after his own heart? What does it take to be a man after God’s heart? I would like to suggest that the answer is not a far fetched idea because to be a man after God’s heart is to do God’s will (Acts 13:22). In this post, I will be looking at the life of David, specifically the actions that reflect this character God found in him to be worthy.
Psalm 119:9 begins with a question that is answered directly: “how can a young man keep his ways pure? By living according to the word of God”. This passage, along with the entire Psalm 119 tells us that the word of God is our source, our foundation to living in a manner that is accepted by God; it gives us the recipe to knowing the heart of God which is simply yielding to Him, and doing the things He likes. In fact, I am convinced that doing what God desires is more important than anything else. Doesn’t the bible say that obedience is better than sacrifices (1 Samuel 15:22)? Therefore, it is not about knowing God’s heart but rather doing what He has asked of us. This is precisely what we find in David. He is enthroned king because Saul has rebelled against God, he has disobeyed and that disobedience is seen by God like the sin of divination (1 Samuel 15:23) which was condemned by God. Because of that disobedience, he lost his throne. David on the other hand was found worthy because God knew David would obey Him and accomplish His purposes. David being chosen king had nothing to do with how wonderful David was, or how courageous and strong he was, or even how good of a shepherd he was but rather how committed to the will of the Father he was. One of the reasons David beat Goliath was because he believed that God’s name was not to be mocked, he believed victory belonged to God, he believed God was powerful to save His own people just as He had done in the past, he knew God would be true to His words and fight for them as He had promised many times (Exodus 14:14; Deuteronomy 1:30, 3:22). When everyone gave into fear, David stood his ground and believed the word of God.
Moreover, before starting anything David always asked the will of God in the matter. He always ensured what he was about to do was aligned with what God wanted. I have been particularly struck by such dependance to God on the part of David. Even when Saul, the biggest obstacle to the accomplishment of God’s promise to him becoming a king was dead, David did not directly go take the kingship, he first asked God whether or not it was the right move to make. (2 Samuel 2:1) I find it astounding because this is someone who had already been anointed king, he had had all the validation you can have, his enemy was dead, yet he still asked if this was the direction God had for him. You see, I believe like David, we ought to seek God’s face for all that we do even when it seems trivial or straightforward. It is important to include God in all that we do. God rescued us from slavery to ourselves to slavery to Him. We are His servants. He is looking for men and women who are ready to humble themselves for Him, to look foolish in the eyes of this world for Him, to suffer for Him, to live courageously for Him, to seek to display His character, etc. We are His, we are not our own. The moment we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and saviour, it means we have relinquished our rights to say we own anything including our bodies. This might yet be the most difficult thing for us to grasp especially as people of control. We love to know how things will go or turn out, we love it when things go exactly as we have anticipated and so to relinquish that bit of “knowledge” seems like foolishness but that is what God asks of us. We ought to surrender to Him completely.
I hope you are able to see that to know the heart of God is simply to be obedient to Him. It is as simple as that, there is no deeper knowledge that you get. How do you know what God has instructed? His words written in the bible give you instructions on what pleases Him and what doesn’t. Second, you also have the spirit of God living in you who tells you and warns you of what God would want you to do or not do. Therefore, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and everything will be added unto you (Matthew 6:33). As you seek the kingdom of God first, you will know what God has said and you will be able to obey Him by the strength of the Spirit. Just be patient, going at it one day at a time. May we be found like David, a servant after God’s own heart.
A Word Aptly Spoken 