A Heart After God
Scripture says that David had a heart after God, (Acts 13:22) however, scripture also says we were born in sin and shaped in iniquity (Psalm 51:5). What was so different about David that God would tell the Prophet Samuel to go and anoint the son of Jesse “…for I have found in him a man after my own heart and who will obey his will” (1 Samuel 13:14)? We know that David was a shepherd, and we learn through reading 1 Samuel that David faced all kinds of tribulations.
In the story of David, we learn that David’s father Jesse sent him to the Valley of Elah where the men of Israel were fighting with the Philistines. He wanted David to get an update on the war. While David was there, Goliath was challenging the men of Israel and cursing their God. David became offended at the challenge Goliath made and he volunteers to fight Goliath. When King Saul questioned him about his ability, David said,
“Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God” (1 Samuel 17:34-36).
Just in this conversation we learn that David had a genuine heart for God’s creation, he had to fight his attackers, he saw God’s hand give him victory, and he developed a deep reverence for God. He knew Jehovah personally. As we read further in scripture, we learn that the more challenges and difficulties David had in his life the deeper his relationship grew with Jehovah.
David’s life experiences are what germinated his growth and personal relationship with Jehovah to produce the exceptional fruit that we read about. The Holy Spirit showed me that when we ask to walk in greater love, to be humbler, to love our enemies and to have a heart after God, we do not realize that this does not fall out of the sky - it comes with experiences.
See, when we give a request to God, we are asking for experiences that will generate that fruit. Now the seed has to go through a germination process before it can break through the soil to even start the journey of producing fruit. Our prayer request for change is the seed, the answer is the germination process, which are the experiences we go through in life. Just like the seed has everything it needs when it is planted in the ground to break the soil, we have everything we need as well. The Holy Spirit would not prompt you to ask for something until He has made you ready for the experience. Your experiences develop the fruit of reverence that you have towards God. If you just take a moment and look back over your life, you will see that every challenge, the good and the bad, produced in you something you did not have before you went through it. There is purpose in everything. ELOHIM uses it all for the good of those who love Him and are called unto His purpose. God knew David had a heart after Him because David had shown Him through his experiences. Every day, all day long we are being tested and it reveals to God and to ourselves our heart posture towards Him. Everything that comes to us has a purpose and its goal is to transform our hearts after Christ.
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
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