Woman After God’s Own Heart
If you have grown up in church, or spent much time in a church setting, you have probably heard of David. David was one of the heroes of the faith who Scripture remembers as the man who slayed Goliath and a man after God’s own heart. However, there are aspects of his life that are less remembered. Firstly, David spent much of his time on the run, hiding from his predecessor, King Saul. Secondly, and let this sink in, David, like all of us, lived a life of selfishness and sin, becoming a murderer and adulterer.
How do we reconcile the two sides of David? How did God allow someone who committed such offenses to be memorialized as “a man after God’s own heart”?
Despite his flaws, David hungered for God always. In good times and bad, David drew his strength from God. In Psalm 63:3, David writes “Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you” (ESV).
When David wrote this, he was hiding in the wilderness from people seeking to end his life. It was the lowest of lows, and yet he chose to praise. In fact, he begins this Psalm by saying, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you, my soul thirsts for you” (Ps 63:1, ESV) and later says, “in the shadow of Your wings I will sing for joy” (Ps 63:7b, ESV). Looking back at Ps 63:3 (ESV), the phrase “steadfast love” is better translated as loving kindness or mercy. In this barren moment, David drew his strength and sustainment from God’s mercy.
How do we become women after God’s own heart?
I don’t know about you, but this is how I want to be remembered. To achieve this, we follow David’s example. In good times and bad, we praise and draw strength from our Father in Heaven; rejoicing in His mercy.
When David wrote this psalm while on the run, he used meditation to understand God’s ways. In fact, time and time again in Psalm, David wrote that he meditated on God, which simply means he thought about God and pondered His ways (see Psalm 1:2, 63:6, 143:5).
Only by thinking about God can we start to love Him with our whole heart, mind and strength. When we understand the Father’s steadfast love, we can finally begin to look more like women after His own heart. May it be so for us all.
