A HEART FOR GOD

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.”

David is said to be a man after God’s heart, meaning David had a heart for God. To have a heart for God, one must have a servant’s heart and this kind of heart is not natural to us; it must be developed. Being pre-occupied with self keeps that development retarded. We are naturally concerned about self, we do not have to be taught that.

There is a great deal of teaching self-esteem, self-love, self-worth and self-consciousness in our day, But God’s Word teaches that we are not to be absorbed with self, we are to be pre-occupied with Jesus Christ, not self. Christ gave His life for us and we wear the name, Christian, which means “Christ’s ones,” “Christians,” “followers of Christ.” We must give Christ the pre-eminence, a place he deserves and allow him to do any promoting that is done in our behalf.

David had learned to expect no more than the Lord had promised and not to expect any less. He tuned his heart to God’s heart and kept it in tune by communing with Him daily. He learned to love the Lord more and not to be so enamored with himself.

It is obvious from his Psalms that he knew the value of meditating upon the Word of God. What a great compliment for the Lord Himself to say that a person has a heart ‘after my heart.’

Pride is a great detriment to having a heart for God, David had a negative example before him in King Saul, of how pride can lead to the downfall of a servant of God. David had learned to be humble and so must we, if we are to be ‘after God’s heart.’

In His Amazing Grace,

Pastor Ed Bowen