Do you know
someone you wouldn’t hesitate to call a man or woman after God’s own heart?
A person
whose heart beats in sync with God’s heart?
Or, here’s a similar question: Do you know someone who has a two-way friendship with God? If so, what has that motivated him or her to do?
Let’s think
about what I wrote last week: Acts 13:36 is one of my favorite Bible verses. It
tells us that when King David had served God’s purpose in his own generation,
he died.
Those
treasured words tell me David died a fulfilled man.
He died with
the satisfaction that
he’d successfully
carried out the plans
God had for him.
He’d
completed his God-given assignments.
In Acts 13:22,
Paul wrote that God said, “I have found David . . . a man after my own heart;
he will do everything I want him to do.” (NIV)
Or, as it
says in The Message: “He’s a man whose heart beats to my heart, a man who will
do what I tell him.”
You see,
David and God had a two-way friendship and, within that relationship, David
sensed God had specific purposes—jobs, goals, functions—for him while he lived
on earth.
Even though
David sinned greatly against God and fellow human beings, God loved him,
forgave him, and didn’t give up on him—God still had work for David to do. And
David knew it. In fact, he yearned to accomplish those tasks.
In Psalm 138,
David wrote about a time when trouble surrounded him. He worried or doubted
whether the good guys would win. He feared that his life might end before he
accomplished all God’s purposes.
However, in
verse eight, David came to his senses—he suddenly remembered God’s sovereignty
and power—and when he did, his perspective changed: he moved from despair to faith.
He wrote, “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me.”
If David was
like me, he underlined the word “will.” Then he underlined it again, and
circled it, and drew an arrow in the margin that pointed at it—as if to say,
Despite my
circumstances,
fears, and
doubts,
God WILL
accomplish His purposes for my life!
I’m sure of
it!
Why did David
yearn to carry out God’s purposes?
Duty?
Obligation?
Did he fear
that, if he failed to live up to God’s expectations, he’d pay a price after he
died?
No, I believe
David’s heart pulsed with a burning desire to please God because, in the words of Elisa Morgan, David “lived loved.”
Next week,
we’ll look at Elisa’s book, She Did What She Could—because, like David,
when you and
I live loved,
our lives
take on new meaning,
we possess a
different focus.
When we live
loved,
we want to
pursue God’s purposes
and goals for
our lives.
You and I aren't like King David—we are just ordinary people—yet God has a
unique purpose for you and one for me, too. Amazing!
Be sure to come back next week.
You don't want to miss this!
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