Have you ever asked
yourselves, what does having a heart like Jesus look like? Do you desire to
grow in your spiritual walk? I know I do, I thirst for Gods righteousness, and it
is something we should all desire. Does your heart bleed for the lost the
hurting and the broken? Do you strive daily to become more like him and mirror
His love for mankind? You may feel like its too lofty of a goal to obtain, or
you may think it does not concern me, why should I even bother?
Spiritual maturity
is about becoming more Christ like, displaying the character Christ, yet we are
imperfect humans who have to daily work out and strengthen our walk. Think of a
person who is trying to get healthy and get into shape, they eat healthy, and
they exercise on a daily basis to strengthen and tone and get their bodies into
shape.
In the same way a person who is working on
building their faith up and growing in Christ Jesus reads Gods word daily,
studies it and applies what he has read, he prays and communicates with Jesus
on a daily basis, talking and building that relationship up. He spends times
with other believers so he can be encouraged and encourage them. The more you grow in Christ the more your
heart and life will mirror Christ!
Therefore, a very good example of a Man who
desired and thirsted for God was King David. He had a simple beginning as a shepherd
boy. God called him a man after Gods own heart. David was just like us, he had
hopes and dreams, he had struggles and he had sins. Just like us all. Can we
learn from King David, can we see our lives in some form when we read about him
in God’s word?
What does
the world look at, when they size up someone; they look at the outward
appearance, the success of that individual. God looks at our hearts! It says it
right there in 1 Samuel 16:6,7 The lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the
outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart”
So we go on and we look at the kind of man
David was. We could go into depth and do a complete character study, but I want
to keep this simple and to the point right now. David had a lot going for him.
He was handsome, smart, a leader, and a warrior, so it sounds on the surface
that he was all around what God would want to do his work for him. Then we read
further along in Samuel and it talks about the many sins of David, murder, adultery,
lust. so he was a sinner just like us, not a saint. Yet God called him a man
after Gods own heart.
You ask how can that be, why would God use the
man who had fallen so many times, Sounds a lot like us, we sin repeatedly, but Gods
forgives our sins. he does not hold them over us, he wipes them clean, when we
repent and are sincere God looks inward and looks at the condition of our
hearts, that’s what he did with David. Were there consequences for his sins,
yes, his son died, he had enemies, and he dealt with famine. Despite all he had
done God still called him for a great purpose. I recall the quote , don’t remember
who its by but it says” God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called”
God doesn’t look for perfection, but for a willing heart ,a hear that thirsts
for righteousness’ heart that’s ready to follow the call into the likeness of
Christ!
Many times, we feel inadequate, in my own journey I know I have.
I wonder of David ever felt like that? He trusted God to lead the way, anytime
he went into battle; it wasn’t his armor he was outing on, but Gods armor .Ephesians 6:10-17.So why do we
question God when he desires to use us. We are not stepping out into battle on
our own strength; the battle belongs to the Lord. When God calls us he will
equip us, even with all our shortcomings, like David he did not deserve God’s
blessings, but God saw David’s heart and knew that David thirsted for God and
to be more like him, David knew he had fallen short and he repented and God did
bless him.
Do you question God when the Holy Spirit pulls
on your heartstrings, and you know without any doubt that God is calling you
for a greater purpose than you are serving? Do you fight it, question is because
of your past or your sins you find yourselves inner struggle within yourselves
your heart questions am I capable of what you are asking of me?
You might have taken a detour gone off the
path that you know God wants you on, so you doubt yourself. We are equipped already
with every good work with what God wants of us, why do we turn our backs to his
voice at times. I loved the quote by: John
Newton:” I’m a great sinner, but Christ is a great Savior” I desire to grow and
mature in Christ. I hope that’s your desire as well.im still learning, we all
are , were on a journey, one we won’t finish until we get to heaven one day
study his word and apply it daily to my life. It’s my compass, it’s the first
place I go when I have a problem. Ill fall short like Kind David did, but I want
God to look at my heart and see whop I desire to be like? Him
No man can be put
on a pedestal .king David was no different he sinned, but he sought forgiveness
and to grow in his faith. He thirsted, he desired God saw through his mess,
through his flaws and failures and called him by name.
What does a man after Gods heart look like? A heart that
obeys, a heart that is humble, a heart that prays, a heart that thirsts for God’s
word, a heart seeking to grow. If we want that, our desire to learn will grow rapidly
our passion will be evident to those around us in Acts 13:22 it talks about
having a heart that desires to please and obey God!
We need to have communication
with our creator that is wrapped up into growth and applying what we learn practically
into our daily lives and sharing what Christ is doing in our lives, Encouraging
others to do the same. I want to make a difference, I want my heart to look
more and more like Christ, being his hands and feet. Earthly success can be
good, but it has no lasting legacy
.David was a
warrior, a leader, a builder, what surpassed all those accomplishments was his desire
and passion to know HIS God! His praises were in his lips! He knew he was far
from perfect, earthly success does not define charterer, our hearts speak of
the man or woman he wants us to be. Its not about what we accomplish, but whom
we are becoming in Christ that matters most to Him. Let us follow David’s
example, he was just like us! Let’s not strive for success or knowledge, lets
strive to have a heart more like Jesus!
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