"A man after God's own heart"

Today's thought is a little different. Thanks to my friend Ben for opening up some discussion! Here is his comment in case you missed it:

      "I would love to get your feedback about David being a man after God's own heart. I have always wondered about the way that this should translate into our personal search for God. For some people this is a trump card that is used to redefine David as a superior spiritual being. Do you think he was? Do you think we make too much of David being this "man after God's own heart?" Perhaps since he was the only man who was called this maybe we make too little of it. I would love to hear your perspective?"

    I thought about this a lot today and read some other opinions and read pretty much all of the Biblical account of David. Here is my perspective...

     It sounds wimpy, but I believe that we make too much out of David's title and I believe that we make too little of it. When it comes to the actual title I think we tend to go overboard. Yes, David is the only one christened with such a grand title, but in context I don't think it was intended to be so grand. Let's look at the source: 

     1 Samuel 13:13-14 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.” 

     Acts 13:22 And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’

     Saul has just directly disobeyed the Lord and taken matters into his own hands. He has finally pushed the limits too much and God has removed the kingdom from him. I think in a literal, logical sense, the statement "a man after His own heart" is simply providing a contrast to Saul's attitude and behavior. When we see this title again in Acts there seems to be more clarification. Behind this famous title we have “Who will do My will.” This also seems to imply that David was being compared and contrasted to Saul. Saul had definitely not been following God or obeying Him or showing any signs of having a heart in tune with the Lord. At this point in David's life he had a heart that was seeking to do exactly what God wanted. God needed someone faithful to lead His chosen nation.

    On the flip side, while I do not believe this title means David has reached a solitary spiritual level, I do wholeheartedly believe that David is an amazing example to follow in our Christian walk. David was young when the Lord chose him as king. We know that even as a young shepherd his heart was right with God and his trust and confidence was great. We see David’s willingness to obey the Lord’s command over and over again. In 1 Kings we see an amazing summary of David’s actions.

1 Kings 15:5 - because David did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

     David’s sin with Bathsheba and the resulting fall is appalling. However, when David is confronted by Nathan he does not shift the blame, point fingers, or make excuses.

2 Samuel 12:13 - So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.

     David shows remorse and immediately gets his life back on track. David pays horribly for his sins both with the death of his newborn and the ongoing fallout with his children. There are plenty of moments where we can both question and admire David’s parenting skills. He was still a human, and like all humans had faults and sins. I believe the true test comes in consistency. David always seems able to overcome his faults and realign his heart with God’s desires. There are few examples of men with such consistency.

     In my opinion there is one last thing that makes David great. No other Biblical man of God seemed to have such a tender heart and close connection with the Lord. I believe the Psalms are perfect evidence of this. If we read David’s Psalms we see deeper into his soul than any other Old Testament hero. David was open and honest about the struggles and desires within his heart. He documented his feelings both on the mountains and in the valleys. He was never too proud to mention his faults or express his fears. Any Christian who shows obedience, consistency, humbleness, and faithfulness in the way David did is truly a “Man after God’s own heart.”

What are your thoughts? Please feel free to add to the discussion in the comments below.