A Man After God's Own Heart and Me

  Of all the people in the Bible, I can easily say David is not among my favorite. For the past couple months, my family and I have been going through the books of I and II Samuel. In those books, David showed himself to be a lot of things. A murderer, an adulterer, a womanizer, a dead-beat dad, a prideful king. Yet, those things are not what defined David in the eyes of God. In Acts 13:22b, God says of David, "'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'" It was through the line of David, that God allowed His earthly temple to be built. It was by David's hand that some of the most beautiful poetry put to paper was written. And it was through the line of David that God brought His son Jesus Christ into the world. God blessed David, and He also loved him enough to discipline him.
  David was a man passionately in love with God. He did sin, but he also repented. He patiently bore the consequences of his sin, knowing he justly deserved them. In Psalms 51:10-12, we read the words, "Create in me a pure jeart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of my salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me." After committing the sin of adultery and instigating the murder of a man, David wrote this Psalm of repentance, and after that he never again committed the sins of adultery or murder. He clung to God's grace, and strove to live a holy life after his mistakes.
  So there was David, a man after God's own heart. And then there is me, a well-behaved, law-abiding, self-righteous little Pharisee. David's life makes me look like a saint. But could it be said of me that I am a woman after God's own heart? More often than not, it sadly cannot be said of me. I am a selfish girl. Many times I use the excuse of living in my own skin to pursue my own lusts, but that is far from being a legitimate excuse for selfishness.
  By the grace of God though, He does discipline me and draws me closer to Him. I have to learn to pursue God and love Him whole-heartedly, just as He loves and pursues me. And by His grace, I can learn to chase the heart of God instead of chasing me.