A MAN AFTER GOD'S OWN HEART

"MAN LOOKS AT THE OUTWARD APPEARANCES BUT THE LORD LOOKS AT THE HEART." I SAMUEL 16:7

Pop quiz: if you were asked to name the most famous king of Israel, who would it be? You guessed it: King David. He was born the youngest of 8 sons, the shepherd boy of Bethlehem, almost forgotten in the mix. When God sent the prophet Samuel to anoint the next king, Jesse paraded before Samuel his first 7 sons. Samuel's response, "Are these all the children? (I Samuel 16:11) Jesse had to send for David out in the pasture shepherding the flock to run home and stand before Samuel and be anointed.

David is described by God as a man after His own heart, but David is also a man of contrasts. A mighty warrior with so much bloodshed on his hands that God would not let him build the temple and yet a poetic writer of over 1/2 of the Psalms. A faithful follower of King Saul, who would not take the life of the king, and yet when David was king himself, he schemed to have Bathsheba's husband die on the battlefield. A man who writes, "My shield is with God, Who saves the upright" (Psalm 7:10) and yet commands that an evil census be taken to number his valiant warriors.

The trend in David's life is this: When David was at his best, it was when he walked in faith, with prayer, and by following the Word of God.

TRUSTING IN FAITH: "Then David said to the Philistine, 'You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands...the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord's." (I Samuel 17:45-47) One smooth stone slung from a slingshot later and Goliath toppled over in defeat.

TRUSTING IN PRAYER: Early in his reign the Philistines twice went to battle with David. David twice inquired of the Lord. David twice defeated the Philistines. "David did just as God had commanded him...then the fame of David went out into all the lands." (I Chronicles 14:16-17)

TRUSTING GOD'S WORD: David tried to move the ark of the covenant with disastrous results. A few months later he repeats the same event but with success because he only had the Levites carry the ark. Why the difference? The first time "we did not seek Him according to the ordinance". (I Chronicles 15:13) The first time around David consulted with the leaders of Israel; the second time he consulted with the Word of the Lord and did it according to God's way.

When David was at his worst, lack of prayer and relying on self were his downfalls. Consider the following:

LACK OF PRAYER: When David was first on the run from King Saul, he goes to Ahimelech the priest and lies to him, saying that the king had commissioned him. Later the priests are tragically killed because of his deception.

RELYING ON SELF: Years later, weary from running, "David said to himself, 'Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul" (I Samuel 7:1) so he crosses over to enemy territory and becomes a servant to the King of Gath - the very Philistines that Israel defeated after David was victorius over Goliath!

And then there was Bathsheba. He took another man's wife in adultery and then had her husband moved to the front lines to be killed in battle. The Lord's response: "The thing that David has done was evil in the sight of the Lord." (II Samuel 11:27)

How can this be the same man? How can we reconcile in the life of David the walk of faith on one hand with the lack of faith on another? I believe it is David's response to God's correction that is the key.

CONFESSION AFTERWARD: David's simple response to Nathan, the prophet, after David's affair with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah: "I have sinned against the Lord." (II Samuel 12:13) Also, he writes in Psalm 51:4, "Against You, You only I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when you speak and blameless when You judge."

OBEDIENCE IN BETWEEN: "When You said, 'Seek My face, my heart said to You, "Your face, O Lord, I shall seek." (Psalm 27:8)

WORSHIP THROUGHOUT: "I will extol You, my God, O King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever." (Psalm 145:1-2)

God does not demand perfection from us. What He loves is a heart that trusts in Him, is obedient to Him, and one that confesses and turns back to Him instead of one that responds with pride and lack of remorse. He knows our frailties. He knows our hearts. He knows our humanness and that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) It is what you do with the moments of weakness that sets you apart and allows you to still be called a man or woman after God's own heart.

How about you? Do you willingly run to Him when you have sinned against Him, confessing to Him and accepting His forgiveness? Do you seek to follow Him all the days of your life? Do you praise Him in the good and the bad circumstances of life, trusting Him for the outcome? If so, you are blessed. If not, turn back to Him. You are only one prayer away.