Search This Blog

Thursday, August 25, 2011

A Man After God's Own Heart

A man after God's own heart does not mean he is without sin. 
A man after God's own heart does not mean he is never grieved.
A man after God's own heart does not mean he is without temptation to sin.
A man after God's own heart does not mean he never wallows and complains.
A man after God's own heart does not mean he is always worshipful and thankful.
A man after God's own heart does not mean he lives a life without anxiety and fear.

A man after God's own heart looks like this:

 Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, 2 and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. 3 So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. 5 And David’s two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. 6 Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.
7
Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 So David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?”
And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.” 1 Samuel 30:1-8

MacArthur says, "Serving as a source through which one could make direct and specific inquiry into the will of God, theHigh-priest ephod, which contained the Urim and Thummim was sought by David.  The distress of the moment drew his focus away from the treasonous thoughts of his men and back to God in his desperation to know what God would have him do."

A man after God's own heart, when sinful, seeks God.
A man after God's own heart, when grieved, seeks God.
A man after God's own heart, when tempted to sin, seeks God.
A man after God's own heart, when anxiety and fears set in, seeks God.
A man after God's own heart, when wallowing and complaining begins, seeks God.
A man after God's own heart, when bitter and full of self-seeking pleasures, seeks God.

I wonder are you strengthening yourself in the LORD?  Are you a man after God's own heart?



2 comments:

greg fero said...

Thank you... I really needed this. God has been working in my life in awesome ways. I have been wondering what I really want from life... money, house,job,wife,kids.... and I finally realized all those come second to what I truly want. I want God to say of me that I truly am a man after His heart. I pray God keeps blessing you!

Unknown said...

Thank you Greg. Blessings on you as well!!