A man after God's own heart!

There is one particular declaration in the  Bible that has always arrested my attention---it is when God expressed His affections toward King David when God declared "David to be a man after His own heart" (1Samuel 13:14).

We know on the surface that there was nothing about David that would have impressed God. David was a shepherd, and a young one at that, living in the village of Bethlehem. Remember, David's own father didn't even think to include him until Samuel asked, "Are these all your sons?"


In spite of David's low standing, God sent the prophet Samuel to the house of Jesse to look for the next king of Israel. That next king would be David the youngest son of Jesse---God says in effect, David, "you have what I'm looking for, you will be the next king of Israel."









Why then did God say that David was a man after His own heart? We know that it was not Davids social standing, wealth, or his celebrity status. I think that this particular writing of David s best captures the meaning behind the phrase:
 

I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” Psalms 16:2

I think that David recognized that the only good thing in life was the Lord, the creator of all good things. David knew that God was the one and only true good sovereign who reigned over all the earth.

 I have read before that President Theodore Roosevelt often went outdoors at night, looked up into the vastness of the universe, simply to remind himself of his humanity compared to the vastness of the universe.  I'm sure on those dark starry nights as David tended to his sheep, he would look up into the vastness of space and realize his humanity, and be reminded of the bigness of the God of Israel.

If we go to the New Testament to Paul's first letter to the Corinthians 1:26-29, we see that God does not call individuals based on their wordily status or their natural proclivities, but rather by His own set of rules.

Pay attention to verses 28-29---"God also has chosen the world's insignificant and despised people and nobodies in order to bring to nothing those who amount to something, so that nobody may boast in the presence of God."

That's it Christian!---God's choice of David was for His glory and honor--- Yes, David's inner-life was soft and tender to the voice of God---but in the end it is always about God's glory and honor.

Father give us hearts that are soft and tender, so we would submit our wills to Your Lordship---Give us the understanding that the Christian life is to be lived for Your glory and honor amen.