Scripture
And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will. Acts 13:22
Observation
Wow, a man after God’s own heart!
This bold statement said about King David is derived from 1 Samuel 13:14, in which the prophet Samuel said to Saul about David, “But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”
But we all know the rest of the story. We are puzzled because we are familiar with David’s shame of adultery, murder, and deceit concerning Uriah and Bathsheba.
So how could this adulterer, murderer, and liar be called a man after God’s own heart?
Application
One of the things that continue to amaze me about the Bible is its honesty; it is all there; the good, the bad and the ugly. God doesn’t gloss over sin, ever.
If you compare the life of Saul and David, you find they both made mistakes. In fact, a close comparison might lead someone to think that David’s sin was greater than Saul’s. What made the difference? I believe in a word it was repentance. David had it, Saul did not. David knew how to sin, but he also knew how to repent. This story tells me how powerful repentance is as far as God is concerned. Once David repented, God did not see David as the adulterer, murderer and liar, he was a person after His own heart.
Prayer
Father, it is truly a wonderful thing you did in the life of David. My prayer is that I will also experience that kind of full and complete forgiveness. Help me to become a man after your own heart.
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1 comment:
Saul's sin seems to be one of planning as well as he not being able to be repentant. he had waited he thought long enough, he was losing his army, how could he save face. So he plans a way to say that God is still with he and his army.
When confronted with his error he makes excuses and outright lies about his actions. That is in direct contrast with David. When Nathan reveals David's sin one can almost hear the tears as Nathan ends the story. He knows he has been caught,,,,,,,,,,,,. No excuses were made and no lies were added to cover his tracks. Instead we hear a broken heart almost relieved that his sin has been found out.
The person walking with God may fall into sin but their heart is not into it. They know they are living in a broken relationship and pray for a way to repair it. These are the ones that God loves. Thesee are the ones that hear the shepherd;s voice and turn around and start back to him before they can see him.
Lord make me this day a man after Your own heart.
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