David is described in Acts 13:22 TNIV as a man after God’s own heart. Perhaps even more poignantly, the phrase is actually ascribed to God Himself: “God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’” Everyone knows that David was not perfect and made some horrendous mistakes in his life (adultery and murder amongst them), which gives added depths to this description. More than anything else, I long to be a person who is like God and who will do everything God asks me to do.
Phil Wickham’s song ‘Carry My Soul’ has the lyrics:
‘I will run
Oh. and I won’t quit,
Chasing Your heart,
Just like David did.’
That phrase again captures for me the very essence of David. He was impulsive and made mistakes. He often acted boldly, but sometimes that boldness was thoughtless and not always wise. He had, most of all, though, a heart for God. God looks beyond the outward appearance of man to the heart (a truth described in Samuel’s original anointing of David as king in 1 Samuel 16:7 TNIV.) We, too, may make mistakes. We won’t always get it right. But God sees our hearts and knows the motivations and desires within. May we run after God, chasing His heart in all we do. Maybe that’s what Peter meant when he said that ‘love covers over a multitude of sins’ (1 Pet 4:8 TNIV)?
‘Carry My Soul’, Phil Wickham