During the months of September through May I lead a woman’s bible study, Due to everyone’s busy schedule, we take off June through August. It is a time when I use to rest and spend time doing some other things that I enjoy. The Lord led to purchase a bible study by Sheila Walsh entitled The Longing in Me. I planned to spend the summer months working through this on my own but God had other plans. I had the joy of doing the study with three friends who also have the summer off from their normal bible study time. It was a blessed time to get to know one another better and spend time sharing with each other.
The study focused on the man and character of David. David was known as a “man after God’s own heart.”
We find much of his character in the book of Psalms as he opened up his life for all to examine. David’s life was portrayed by both success (he killed Goliath – I Samuel 17) and failure (his sin with another man’s wife – 2 Samuel 11) and he was far from perfect.
So the question is, how could God call David “a man after His heart” when David was such a terrible a sinner, having committed adultery and murder? Let’s look a little closer at the life of David to see if we can find out the answer to that question.
David had solid faith in God. In 1 Samuel 17 where David as a young shepherd boy fearlessly killed the Philistine, Goliath. His faith said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David,”Go, and the LORD be with you!” David was fully aware that God was in control of his life, and he had faith that God would deliver him. How else would one venture into a potentially fatal situation with such calm and confidence? David knew early on in life that God was to be trusted and obeyed. As we see in Scripture, David’s faith pleased God, and he is rewarded for it by the Lord.
David also loved God’s law. Of the 150 psalms in the Bible, David is credited for writing over half of them. David repeatedly mentioned how much he loved God’s perfect Word. We find a beautiful example of this in Psalm 119:47-48: “For I delight in your commands because I love them. I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees.” It is not hard to see his complete adoration for God’s Word. But also notice how he mentions that he “meditates” on God’s statutes. God granted David understanding and wisdom through daily meditation. What a beautiful example to us, “Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways” (Psalm 119:2-3).
David’s experienced seasons of great peace and prosperity as well as times of fear and despair. But through all of the seasons in his life, he never forgot to thank the Lord for everything that he had. It is truly one of his finest characteristics. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” (Psalm 100:4,). A s followers of Jesus Christ, we would do well to follow David’s lead of offering praise through thanksgiving to our Lord on a daily basis.
I believe David’s greatest characteristic was that he was truly repentant. Not only had he committed adultery and lying, but also murder. He had sinned against God and he admits it in 2 Samuel 12:13: “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.’” But admitting our sin and asking for forgiveness is only half of the equation. The other half is repentance, and David did what we should all do: repent of our sins. One of my all-time favorite scripture is Psalm 51. This is David’s prayer of repentance to God: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!” (Psalm 51:1-2).
David was truly repentant and God forgave him. David is a role model for us and he indeed, was a man after God’s own heart.
When we fail God through sin and disobedience, we can go to him in confidence knowing that “if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to not only forgive us but to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).
Are you a woman after God’s own heart? What is the desire of your heart? Do you have that longing in your heart that says, Give Me Jesus?
Give Me Jesus is a fairly old hymn, originating as an African-American spiritual written during the time of slavery in the Untied States. Each time I hear this song it touches the true desire of my heart. The lyrics of Give Me Jesus are simple, but powerful. My prayer for you is that this is the message of your heart. Whether you are going through a time of success or a time failure, do you want Jesus more than all?
Give me Jesus
Lord when I am alone
And when I am alone
And when I am alone
Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus
You can have all this world