A Heart Condition

When we talk about David, we must talk about heart.  Let’s start by thinking about what heart is.  The dictionary describes it as, “personality, disposition, compassion, the innermost character, feelings, inclinations, the fiber or core, the essence or root.”

To a Hebrew the heart was essential.  It was the emotional center of their being.  They considered it the seat of life.  It included your state of mind and moral condition.

The Bible tells us that David had a heart like God’s.  Therefore, we can understand more of the essence of who God is by looking at David’s heart.  There is so much written about David that we could spend the entire year just studying him.  We could spend another year just looking at the Psalms he wrote.  I encourage you to read about David’s life in 1 and 2 Samuel and the Book of Psalms.  But for this week, I will provide an overview of the highlights of David’s life that I think reveal the heart of God to us.

David was humble.  He was a simple shepherd who was made a king out of the blue.  He never forgot his beginnings and always kept his humble spirit.  Sounds like a carpenter from Bethlehem that we all know

David loved music.  He played to soothe Saul’s troubled soul.  He set poetry to music in his beautiful Psalms.  This matters to me as I love to be surrounded my music.  I like to think that God does too.  Music can soothe, it can excite and it convey emotions hidden in our hearts, sometimes better than we can vocalize ourselves.  If David’s heart was like God’s, then God wants you to enjoy music.

David was a warrior.  We all know the Goliath story.  But throughout his life, David was God’s warrior.  God must value that.  He must want us to fight our demons and slay our dragons.  Of course we know that David was successful because he relied on God.  We are called to the same.

David was a friend.  He made a covenant of friendship with Saul’s son, Jonathan.  Theirs is a wonderful story to read.  It is like an ancient version of Beaches.  This must mean that God wants us to have friends.  Not the people you gossip with in the school parking lot.  But friends like Jonathan.  Friends that when you are running for your life, have your back.  Friends that circle their wagons when times get tough.  You are blessed if you have a few throughout your life.  Know that God wants you to have them.  In fact, He placed them in your life for that season intentionally.  I love that about God’s heart.

David was patient with Saul.  David had to run for his life from Saul.  Twice David could have killed Saul but wouldn’t because David would not harm God’s anointed.  This tells us a great deal about David.  He was not out pushing his own agenda.  He was waiting on God’s timing.  God likes that, if he has a heart similar to David.

When David discovers that Saul is dead, he has words of praise for him.  Even though Saul wanted nothing more than to take David out.  David remembered the good in Saul.  This is less fun for me…..a heart like God’s loves his/her enemies.  Ouch!  That is tough.  David gives us a great example.

David centered his life on God.  The first thing he does after becoming king is to move the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem.  One of the most powerful scenes of David’s life is of him leaping and dancing before the Ark.  He wanted Jerusalem to not only be the center of his dynasty, but also the center of worship of God.  God wants our lives centered on the worship of Him too.

These are all great examples that show us the essence of who David was.  Sometimes it depresses me because I think, “if that is a heart like God’s , I’m not even close.”  But let’s not overlook another important part of David’s life, Bathsheba.

David was consumed with desire for Bathsheba.  In fact, he committed adultery with her.  As we know all sin has consequences.  David ordered Bathsheba’s husband Uriah killed in battle and takes her as his wife.  She was pregnant with David’s baby at the time and the baby dies.  Unfortunately, for David, the consequences continued throughout his life.  His own son, Absalom, betrayed him.  David’s grief over Absalom is palpable in 2 Sam 18:28-33.  Surely anyone who has experienced the death of a child can relate to those words.

You are probably saying, “Now wait a minute, this guy commits adultery and has people killed….and has a heart like God’s??  I know it may seem off on the surface.  We have to ask ourselves, “why didn’t God abandon David since he sinned?  The answer….David never turned away from God.  Even when he was sinning, he had a heart to love God.

What a message of hope for all of us!  Here’s an update, we will sin.  At times, we will do things we swear we weren’t even capable of doing.  When you find yourself in times of sin, remember David.  Keep your heart searching for God.  You will find Him.  And in the end, your heart will be more like His because of it.

Ask yourself the following questions:

Am I humble?

Am I creative?

Am I warrior?

Am I a friend?

Am I patient?  Do I wait on God’s timing?

Do I love my enemies?

Is my life centered on God?

Do I allow sin to remove me from God or shape me into who He wants me to become?