Lately, I have had a question in my mind that I wanted answered: How can I be a woman after the heart of God? I had read through the stories of King David in the Bible, and he is referred to as a man after the heart of God.
"But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you." 1 Samuel 13:14
"And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.'" Acts 13:22
If you know the story of David, then you know that he was not only a righteous man but one who made many mistakes. That is what I found so interesting - he made terrible mistakes, yet he is still called a man after the heart of God. It intrigued me and I wanted to know why David was called a man after the heart of God. Most importantly, I wanted the application to my own life - I want to be a woman after the heart of God. So, I dove into reading 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, and 1 & 2 Chronicles and started to take note of what I noticed.
Attributes of a person after the heart of God:
Faith: David made the stand against Goliath knowing full well that God would deliver Goliath into his hands. David understood that the battle was not his but the Lord's. David had faith that he fought from a place of victory even before he stepped onto the battlefield. 1 Samuel 17:38-49
Keeps the commands of the Lord: Saul knew that Daid was to be the next king, so he tried to kill David. While David was being pursued, he had a couple chances to kill Saul. Instead of doing so, he refrained because of the law quoted in Exodus 22:28. "You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people." David would not kill Saul because he respected and kept the commands of the Lord. 1 Samuel 24 & 26
Seeks the Lord & Consults Him: Throughout the life of David, there were multiple instances where David inquired of the Lord before battle or other decisions. This is a practice in which should be done more! God wants to be a part of our lives even in the mundane! He wants us to seek His counsel - through His word, His people, and His Spirit. 2 Samuel 2:1; 2 Samuel 5:18; 2 Samuel 5:23 "Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually!" 1 Chronicles 16:11
Worship & Rejoices in the Lord: David is the author of many of the Psalms, which are the poems that are praises to God. In 2 Samuel 6:12-15. David is bringing the ark of the covenant back to the city of David. He was rejoicing and it says in verse 14, "And David danced before the Lord with all his might." David shamelessly danced before the Lord in joy and praise. Read Psalm 145. It was a praise song that David wrote to the Lord. He praised God for who He is, what He has done, His faithfulness, and His character. "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable." Psalm 145:3 God is more than deserving of all the praises we can give Him. When we learn to worship and praise God in all of our circumstances, it is life changing.
Quick to Repent: David is not a perfect man by any means, read 2 Samuel 11. David commits adultery, gets her pregnant, and proceeds to cover it up by having her husband killed. Doesn't sound like a man chasing after the heart of God to me. Yet, when David was confronted with his sin in chapter 12, he doesn't offer excuses or play the blame game. He was quick to repent and confess of his sin. We are all sinners and won't stop sinning until Jesus takes us home. Learning to repent quickly and confess to God and community is a vital part of our walk with God. It frees us from shame and makes us right with God. Although, God forgives us, there are still consequences to every sin.
Humility: David knew where his strength and success came from - God. Read 2 Samuel 22. David praised the Lord for giving him the strength, delivering him from his enemies, and giving him victory.
Submits Dreams to God's Will: It was in David's heart and his desire to build a temple for God, which we could all agree was a worthy dream. Through the prophet Nathan, God informed David in 2 Samuel 7 that he would not build a temple for Him. God explains to David the better plan He has in store: God would build David a house - a dynasty - David's kingdom would be established forever. We know that Jesus came from the line of David and would be the one to establish this kingdom forever! God told David that his offspring, Solomon, would build Him a temple. We fight so hard for our dreams, which there is nothing wrong with, but we need to submit all our dreams to God's will! "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:9 David after being told his dream wasn't in God's plan, he went on to continue to make the preparations for the temple build, gave Solomon the plans, and encouraged Solomon to build the temple. Read 1 Chronicles 22:2-15.
Gratitude: David gave thanks to the Lord throughout the scriptures, and you can see it in the Psalms he wrote. "Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!" 1 Chronicles 16:34 Make a list of what you are thankful for and give praise to God, because all good things come from Him!
Tell Others about the Lord: David said in one of his songs: "make known His deeds among the people." 1 Chronicles 16:8 Jesus in the New Testament calls us to go out into the world and make disciples - the great commission! We are not to be silent about our faith but to tell others about the good news and what He has done in our lives!
David gave this instruction to his son before he died, "Be strong, show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in His ways and keeping His statutes, His commandments, His rules, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you turn, that the Lord may establish His word that He spoke concerning me..."
1 Kings 2:2-4
David was not a perfect man but throughout his life we can see the attributes that made him a man after the heart of God. I am encouraged to know that a life chasing after the heart of God isn't a perfect life, but a life submitted to the Lord. The Lord can work His power and strength through my failures and weaknesses. It isn't my job to be perfect. It is my job to be submitted to God and say 'yes' when He calls me to something.
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