“But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29).

Inspiration and real hope come to me when I think of the Biblical character David and how God referenced him as a man after His own heart.  Sure, David killed a lion and a bear, slew mighty Goliath, and reigned as the greatest of kings.  The part that brings encouragement and lively hope are not so much in his special feats, but in the things God chose to forgive and divine reasoning in His judgment of David.

All things being equal, an adulterer and a murderer don’t fit into a wholesome relationship that God would endorse or memorialize.  The fact that David had an affair with a married woman, Bathsheba, and subsequently masterminded a plot to have her husband Uriah killed in battle as part of a cover-up made him guilty of both crimes.  As you read the story of David, on a human level, serious consequences of these acts followed David all the days of his life.  But God….

In today’s message, we’d like to focus on the repentant response that David genuinely exhibited when the prophet Nathan confronted him about what he had done.  The light of God’s reality hit David in a dramatically resurrecting way, opposite of the stone he fatally flung at Goliath.  “Oh my God, I have sinned against You”, was David’s heart-felt conviction.  He had let down the One who had birthed him and developed him as the psalmist warrior.  His flesh had ruled and reigned in God’s place. For that his heart cried, not in simple remorse, but in shame and sorrow.

There are numerous scriptures that share the idea that God’s Kingdom is One of the heart.  Three favorites are found in proverbs:  As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. (23:7); Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life. (4:23); Trust in the Lord with all your heart and in all your ways acknowledge him, and He will direct your path (3:5-6).

Family and friends, none of us are David or ever will be.  What we can be, however, is a man or woman after God’s own heart.  The privilege of pursuing him and worshipping Him in Spirit and truth is ours and the choice we make in that regard is ours as well.  The Spiritual oasis available to us requires a thirsty and burning heart for fellowship with the Lord; the I AM who Created us, the One Who gives us a second chance, The Holy Spirit who lives, and the Awesome eternal rewarder.

Father in Heaven, in Jesus’ name, please clear the way for those writing or reading this article to be men or women after your heart— because for each of us, especially for such a time as this, there is no greater pursuit!  Amen.

1 Cor 10:31; Matt 6:33; Psalm 14:2; Acts 17:27-28; Heb 11:6