After God’s Own Heart
Scripture records that David was the man after God’s own heart;
Acts 13:22 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 fulfil all my will:
David as a youth had a heart for the things of God, and throughout the span of his life we see him often seeking God for what God wants in the situation at hand. Before he ever was called to play the harp for Saul, he is described as … cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him. (I Samuel 16:18) David sought the will of God many times before going into battle (for examples I Samuel 30:8, II Samuel 5:19, II Samuel 5:23). It was even in David’s heart to build the temple (II Samuel 7:2 – 16), and although he was not allowed to build the temple, he prepared much for it (I Chronicles 22:1 – 16). God also gave to King David in writing the pattern (or plans) of the temple and furnishings, which David gave to Solomon (I Chronicles 28:10 – 19). If you can have this heart for God, know that He will find you. That David was found of God, and also anointed by Him, is further confirmed in the Psalms;
Psalm 89:19, 20 Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people. I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him:
But consider now that in David’s heart for God, the beginnings of the specific calling of God preceded even his anointing: as Samuel is speaking to King Saul, the prophet confirms that God has already found a man after His own heart, and that He has already commanded him;
I Samuel 13:14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee.
So in now considering that David was the man after God’s own heart that God had sought; know that as a youth tending the sheep David had been commanded of God, called if you will, to be captain over the people. So when Samuel went to Jesse and they were looking one by one through his sons, they (Samuel and Jesse) were looking for revelation from God as to who was chosen: but for David, however, it was confirmation of what he had already been commanded of God, and then the spirit of the Lord came upon David.
We have thought and taught that the lion and the bear that David killed were his preparation for Goliath: but when the prior commandment of God is considered, they were only additional confirmation or further strengthening of his faith in his calling. When David went out against Goliath he was not a youth exploring the possibilities of his God, but a called man of God walking in obedience to the spirit of God! Can you get a different perspective of his saying, Is there not a cause? There was a cause, and there was a purpose, and there was a calling, and David answered that calling and walked in obedience!
Consider also that God did not declare David as having been born to his calling, but God sought him a man after his own heart. Consider several other Biblical examples of men who walked stedfastly and suffered to find the calling of God: … the Lord looketh on the heart (I Samuel 16:7). Joseph warded off the desire of Potiphar’s wife and went unfailingly through thirteen years of much tribulation to find His purpose and calling. Although Moses initially knew of his calling (Acts 7:25), he was forty years becoming the meekest man who lived (Numbers 12:3) before being finally called at the burning bush. Daniel, the only man called greatly beloved in the Bible (three times), walked with God righteously and steadfastly through captivity and much persecution of the enemy to his calling of seeing visions as the prophet of God. Although Saul was … brought up … at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God … And I persecuted this way unto the death … (Acts22:3, 4), and Jesus had foretold of this … whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service (John 16:2), can you recognize the zeal and heart for God that Saul (the Apostle Paul) had, even though it was totally misguided? If you can also be after the heart of God He will give you a calling and a purpose, but it will always be on the path of sanctification and holiness.
In seeking or desiring a relationship there can be an element of lust, personal gain, or self-gratification, but if we are truly seeking after someone’s heart we are purposing to know what they like, to know what pleases them, and then to do just those things. Are you fully seeking God’s heart, or are you seeking and expecting to gain from the relationship? Salvation? Healing? Deliverance? Relief? Heaven? Can you see this progression in the life of Paul from where he despaired even of life (II Corinthians 1:8) to the place where he could declare neither count I my life dear unto myself (Acts 20:24)? And to the place where he could consider giving his own soul for others;
I Thessalonians 2:8 So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.
That is truly the mind of Christ, who literally gave His physical life for us. And His mind was the seeking of God’s heart … nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. This mind will not allow you to be sidetracked, slowed, or stopped with personal gain, desires, or purposes, but will always be seeking what the will and heart of God is: … I do always those things that please him (John 8:29). That is also the heart of God for you individually; But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) That mind is not just desiring to find what He wants, but giving Him your heart that He might impart His heart, His love, His very nature into your heart! God is love, and there can be no place in your heart for hate, dissimulation, or any of the things of Galatians 5:19 – 21 if you have a heart for God (Please consider and seek God to remove each of these, and also look and ask for the fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22 – 25). Your heart must be completely yielded to His will, His purpose, and His leading. It is only at that place that you can truly say you have surrendered all. Paul and Silas did not let pain, suffering, and bondage prevent the will of God; praying, and singing, and praising God in the prison.
Do not let the enemy trap you into trying to make your heart like the heart of God. Ezekiel 28:2 – 19 tells what the devil (as prince and king of Tyrus) encountered in his steps of that attempt to … set thine heart as the heart of God. What does scripture tell us about our heart?
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Your heart will justify your thoughts, words, deeds, or actions to satisfy what your flesh wants, and thus deceive you that it is good in the sight of God. There can be no place of pride in our self, but we must walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8). Due to its deceit and wickedness, it is not our heart we are trying to have, no matter how good the actions and motives may be: we are not seeking a replica of the heart of God, but a yielding that His heart and His love may be controlling in our lives: … the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. It will not be an increase in your love that you attain if you are after God’s own heart, but receiving His love throughout your heart. It is a good … and perfect gift … from the Father (James 1:17).
And yet through it all Paul would say I die daily. The enemy will never quit in his attack on you from temptation through persecution. Consider that David, a man after mine own heart, failed in the temptation of the matter of Bathsheba. Stay on the path of sanctification, and always be wary of the deceit and subtilty of the enemy. Your wicked heart and flesh will always be seeking to re-establish or regain its prior dominance in your life. In always seeking good you will find God:
Amos 5:14 Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.
It is by seeking good and having Him with you that you may also have and receive grace, and that is the purpose of God for you;
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Your expected end is the will, plan, and purpose that God has for you. In His omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, and pervasive love God created the universe, each galaxy, each solar system, each star, each asteroid, each moon, each planet, and each and every creature and plant in intricate detail, size, location, interrelationship, and time: and also with a specific use, need, and purpose for each physical thing. In considering this, know that God has a specific spiritual purpose for creating each one of us if we will desire to find it and know it and fulfill it, the expected end. The enemy is constantly trying to take away your expected end, by deception, distraction, temptation, apathy, or persecution: desiring to destroy your relationship with God. It has been said that the enemy counts your failures as His worship. Do not let the enemy take your relationship with God, as God works in you to find His will, plan, and purpose.
The Psalmist recognized the miraculous, astonishing, intricacies of his own body, and praised God for it;
Psalm 139:14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
Look closely at some of the preceding verses as he notes the interweaving of God in his life;
Psalm 139:1 – 13 O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.
First God created you in His infinite and pervasive love in order to love you! Can we desire to love Him back? Know that God has an intricate spiritual purpose for you, and ask Him for His grace to fulfill it, and you will begin receiving these gifts in your life. If you consider the opposite walk of what the Psalmist has said, can you see why we call those running from God the “lost”? When we leave God’s plan and purpose we have strayed from the map, and cannot find our intended destination. But God is always there, prepared to love us back to our right standing with Him.
Being after God’s heart is the start of the path to oneness with God (John 10:30, 14:23, 17:21 – 23). Spiritual fusion with God is a joining, a bonding together, with His great power then available, but always in His will, His way, His timing, and for His great purpose. Will you choose to be consumed by spiritual fusion or by spiritual fission? Spiritual fission is a separation, a devastation, a destruction from the presence of the Lord; always separated from Him (II Thessalonians 1:8, 9). May you be a man or woman after God’s own heart, always seeking what He wants. Being a man after God’s own heart will bring you to fully seeking fusion with Him, a symbiotic relationship that is always relying on His provision, and refuge, and perfection in all things.