After God’s Own Heart

This week I would like to share with you a column written by Charles Swindoll.  Although I fall short with great regularity, I aspire to be a man after God’s own heart.  As you read this, consider the importance of the essential character qualities that position us to seek the Lord fully. I hope this touches your heart as it did mine.

“There . . . that one is after my own heart!”

What does it take for God to say that? Thankfully, we don’t have to guess. God did say that about someone, David, and the Bible takes a thorough look at his equally fascinating and instructive life.

Back when young David tended his father’s flocks, God set His eyes on him for something else—nothing less than making David king of God’s chosen nation. Israel already had a king, but that king was not a man after God’s own heart. Obscure David, however, who filled his time in solitude and responsibility as a rugged shepherd . . . that one was a man after God’s own heart whom God selected for His own purpose.

True spirituality. Genuine humility. Bone-deep integrity. These three essential qualities are those I found in my study of David that gave him that kind of heart. What do these qualities look like? They mean you live in harmony with God and you make His priorities your priorities. You won’t hesitate to roll up your sleeves and do grunt work in the shadows without getting a mention of the glory. They mean the private-you and the public-you are one and the same. Being good matters more than looking good.

David didn’t always uphold these qualities, and it cost him when he didn’t. But God applauded when he did.

What I love about these qualities is that they don’t require a king’s palace, a scepter’s sway, a soldier’s strength, or a crowd’s acclaim. Anyone can put a smile on God’s face because anyone, empowered by Christ, can live with true spirituality, genuine humility, and bone-deep integrity.

So no matter who you are or where you are—regardless of what you have been through, what you are going through, what is going on around you, or what is going on in our world—you can live a meaningful life of faith aimed after the heart of God.