In Acts 13 David received a great compliment. God says that David was a man after His own heart (Acts 13:21-22). Wouldn’t it be wonderful to receive such a compliment? The truth is, it is within our power. We can be the kind of Christians that are men and women after God’s own heart. In fact, it should be the aim of each one of us to be after God’s own heart. Let us take a look at some of the qualities that helped David to be such a man.
What Was Not Involved
A perfect life – David was not without his sins. He made his share of mistakes during the course of his life. Perhaps the most familiar one was when he committed adultery with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:1-4). This was no small mistake that David made. He gave in to the lust of the eyes and that led to the giving in to the lust of the flesh. But adultery was not the end of his sinful ways in this matter. After learning that Bathsheba had become pregnant, David arranged the death of her husband, Uriah, to cover his sin (2 Samuel 11:14-17, 26-27). No, David did not live a perfect life.
His physical appearance – David was a very handsome man (1 Samuel 16:12). But, God is not now, nor has He ever been, interested in mere outward appearances. God is concerned with the inner man, that is, with what kind of heart we have. “But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart” (1 Sam 16:7). Many other New Testament passages teach us the same thing. Read 1 Timothy 4:7, 8; 1 Peter 3:3, 4).
What Was Involved
David loved God’s law (Psalms 119:97). When we love doing something, it is hard to put it away. We like to be involved with it, spending as much time doing it as possible. We even budget our time so that we will have the opportunity to do whatever it is we love to do. We should be that way with God’s Word? We should look forward to the time we can spend with God’s Word? We should even arrange our schedules so that we can spend more time learning and understanding it. The more time we spend with the Word, the more we will love and appreciate it (Joshua 1:8; Psalms 1:1-3).
David hid the Word in his heart (Psa. 119:11). If we are to be like David, that is, a people after God’s own heart; a people that God takes delight in, we, too, must hide the Word in our hearts (Colossians 3:16). The mind is like a computer (really a computer is like a mind). It stores information. This is why we should regulate what goes into it (Philippians 4:8; Colossians 3:1, 2). But, it is not enough to simply keep the trash of the world out of our minds, we have to fill it back up with the Word. When we neglect to do so, sin is just around the corner (Hebrews 2:1-3).
David was humble. In 1 Samuel 16:11-13, David learned that he would be king. In 1 Samuel 17:15, 20, however, we find David going back to tend the sheep. Would you tend the sheep if you knew you were the future king of Israel? David was humble, and God likes that in a person (James. 4:6-10; Philippians 2:5-9). The ultimate sign of a fool is arrogance (Proverbs 28:26).
David put his confidence in God (1 Samuel 17:1-51). One of the great children’s stories in the Bible that teach real grown-up lessons is the story of David and Goliath. Goliath was a huge man, skill in physical warfare. He had experienced many victories on the battlefield. When he challenged the Israelite soldiers to fight, there were no takers. But, when David came from his father’s house and heard what Goliath was saying, defying the armies of God, he took Goliath’s challenge. His oldest brother thought it was a matter of pride on David’s part, but his confidence was not in himself, it was in God. He knew that God would deliver him (vers. 34-37). Now, we fight against a bigger foe than Goliath. We fight against Satan and principalities and powers in high places (Ephesians 6:12). If we are to be delivered, we must, like David before us, put our confidence in God, not in ourselves.
Let us follow the example of David and be people after God’s own heart. Let us be a people of whom God will not be ashamed to be called their God (Hebrews 11:16).