Do we need to be afraid that God knows us inside and out and that our thoughts are laid open to Him plain as day? No! He loves us!

King David was a man after God’s own heart. We see his passion in Psalm 42:1, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.” Where did the phrase, “a man after God’s own heart,” originate? As we begin a look into what it takes to be people “after God’s own heart,” we turn to 1 Samuel 13:14,

¹⁴ But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”

Let’s review the story. King Saul had been recently crowned king of Israel. His son, Jonathan, had attacked a Philistine outpost and stirred up the Philistines. they assembled to fight Israel with a much larger army and lots of chariots. The new Israel army was falling apart in fright; many were abandoning the army and were “hiding in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns” (1 Samuel 13:6). Saul waited for the prophet Samuel to come, but got antsy and offered up the burnt offering himself, which was a big no-no. When Samuel arrived, he rebuked Saul telling him that he had acted foolishly and that his kingdom would not endure.

David was a shepherd. It was out on the hillsides that he learned to commune with God. Because of his strong relationship with the Lord, David was brave and took on a lion, a bear, and eventually, Goliath. In 1 Samuel 16, Samuel was following the Lord’s guidance and came upon the house of Jesse; God turned down all six sons that were present in the house. We pick up the story there,

⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him [as king]. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

In case there was any doubt about the accuracy of the story, Paul recounts it in his sermon at Antioch of Pisidia in Acts 13:22,“But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.'”

How about us? Are we willing to do everything that God wants us to do? Are we that devoted to Him? When we think of all the things He has done for us, we know that we can trust Him with our lives. David’s life didn’t always reflect his heart; he made some costly decisions along the way. We probably will, too. But, that doesn’t stop God’s love for us. He will walk through the consequences with us and, somehow, bring good out of them.*

Abba, help us to desire to be a people after Your own heart. May it be said of us, “They will do everything God wants them to.” You know our hearts–and, yet, You love us still! Thank You for loving us!!! Amen.

*David and Bathsheba had two sons. They named the first one Solomon and then Nathan. In their lineages was Jesus! 1 Chronicles 3:5, Matthew 1:6, and Luke 3:31.