Man After God's Own Heart

“I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.”

(Acts 13:22 )

  Have you ever heard this term “David, a man after God's own heart?” Ever wonder what it means? It is usually used today to describe the men and women around us who live a life that appears to be only focused on God. But have you really thought about it? In today's church, David probably would not be accepted and would more than likely be judged and condemned because of his actions and decisions in life. Looking at David's life, would you still call him a man after God's own heart and why or why not? This will be addressed but for now let's think of what this month is about in the eyes of Christians to their Heavenly Father.

  With this month being Father's Day, we tend to remember our fathers. Some of us have great memories. Some do not have so great of memories. While still others are experiencing healing in their relationship with their father and will hopefully begin to experience some great memories. These three thoughts hold true of the view many take of our Heavenly Father as well. Out of these three thoughts, what consistent thoughts do you have about your earthly father and your Heavenly Father?

One Ultimate Father   

  There is one ultimate Father, that being God Himself. Do you remember when you were a toddler and put on your father's shoes and tried to walk around in them? What do you think when you see a toddler do that today? There is the tendency to see how cute the child is behaving. We also will see how awkward it is for the toddler to move around in them and even fall over sometimes. If we look at the experience through spiritual eyes, the reality is some of us try to put our feet in God's shoes and try to walk around in them. Only to find out how awkward it is as we try to walk in His shoes. Just like for a toddler, the shoes they are walking around in were not meant for them so when we try to put our feet in God's shoes, we find they were never meant for us to wear. And the reality is that His shoes will never fit because we will never become God Himself. But we can look like Him when we allow His Spirit to live within us. There are three Scriptures I would like to focus on that will help us remain in our place and let us see that God's shoes can never fit onto our feet.

None other than God

“I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt , out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Deuteronomy 5:6-7)

  Is there any other person out there who can bring us out of the land of our sins and slavery that we experience in life other than God? I have heard people make statements that they are extremely grateful for so-and-so because they would not be where they are today if that person had not intervened in their life. But credit must go to where credit is due. Just as God used Moses to bring the Israelites out of Egypt to freedom, He uses others in our lives to bring us out of our Egypt to freedom. Moses was not credited with bringing the Israelites out of Egypt and so we must not credit those who God has used in our life with having brought us to where we are today and to what we were saved from. God deserves and is the only one that deserves the credit. Whenever we refer to someone else in deserving that credit, we are placing “other gods before God Himself.”

  It is true that we must still be eternally grateful for the obedience of the people who have been instrumental to the changes in our lives because they are being obedient to God whether they realize it or not. But remember it is the obedience of those people and not the people themselves.

None like God

“You shall not make for yourself, an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.” (Deuteronomy 5:8)

  Idolatry is an abomination of God. It basically is an affair man has against God and with someone or something else. In today's world which is not much different than what Jesus shared, idolatry is a sin of the mind against God. It does not necessarily mean we have idols in our homes that we bow down to although some still do. It is what we place a higher precedence on other than God. And why do we place a higher precedence on people, things or thoughts other than God? Could it be because we do not acknowledge God for who He truly is nor show gratitude for what He has saved us from? Man is driven by the lusts of this world and the lusts of the flesh and the greatest sacrifice man could ever make is placing those lusts at the altar of God and saying “I am not going to follow this lust because it separates me from God.” What idols are still in our lives that separate us from the love of God?

Serve none other than God

“You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing loving-kindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” (Deuteronomy 5:9-10)

  When we give credit where credit is due and when we do not allow idols to take place in our heart, mind and lives, it becomes easy to follow this command. We will worship and serve God alone. This is where the relationship of a Father and His son or daughter develops to a greater degree. What son or daughter will not worship or serve their father whom they do not admire and love? And what father will not give to their children what they ask for whom they love? This type of relationship is what God longs for with each and every man, woman and child. He loves us first and with so much love that we cannot deny His love for us and will come to the point where we do admire and love God to such a great degree that it makes God smile. And those who do deny the love He has shown them are living in foolishness and are like those rebellious teenagers who want nothing to do with the authority above them that comes from their parents. Do you have the heart of gratitude and praise that encourages you to worship and serve God out of response to the love our heavenly Father has already shown and will continue to show?

Final Thoughts

  When we look after the man who was described to have a heart after God's own heart, we see an adulterer, a murderer, a liar and the list can go on. So what is it that God meant regarding David as being a man after His own heart? When we look at how David lived His life in relation to God, we can see that David acknowledged God for who He is and totally put His confidence in God. Remember the part of David's life when he slayed Goliath? He went forward in battle with Goliath not because he knew he could slay the giant but because he knew God would slay the giant as seen against all possible odds to show His infinite power and mercy. David placed his trust in God, leaned on God's understanding and not his own and allowed God to be his lead and guide. David also had a love for God far greater than the love he had for any man. It is because of these things and not his actions that David is remembered as a man after God's own heart. Do you want to be remembered as a man or woman after God's own heart?

  Here is a tool that might encourage a stronger Father-child relationship with God that I would recommend you try during the month of June. Take this month we celebrate Father's Day as the means to start or continue to a greater degree an increased means of sharing your gratitude of God in your life. Each day in the month of June, thank God for at least one thing that you can be grateful for with what He has done in your life. What would even be more helpful to a greater degree is spending the time writing each one of them down. Then at the end of the month, go back and re-read through the list you have created. The purpose of this would be to grow in your relationship with God in truth and love not just with knowledge that He loves you.

If you are looking for answers to have hope in your life once again, feel free to send me your question and I will look at addressing that topic in future publications.

John_03_16_Bates@yahoo.com