Approaching God Like A Man After God’s Own Heart

This is one of the blogs that was written in an attempt to cover some of the items we were unable to get to about the life of David during Sunday’s Family Service.

One of the points we looked at is that we, just as David, must depend on God to experience God’s passion in your life. As we look at David’s life, his dependence on God may be his most clear and distinct characteristic. You might know many of the stories from David’s life-like defeating Goliath, being a great warrior, spending years running from the lunatic King he was anointed to replace, and so on. What is remarkable in those stories is that David always has a strong dependency on God.

In maybe the most famous Psalm of them all, Psalm 23 we see David’s dependence on God clearly. David writes,

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He takes me to lush pastures, he leads me to refreshing water. He restores my strength. He leads me down the right paths for the sake of his reputation. Even when I must walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff reassure me. You prepare a feast before me in plain sight of my enemies. You refresh my head with oil; my cup is completely full. Surely your goodness and faithfulness will pursue me all my days, and I will live in the LORD ‘s house for the rest of my life.

All throughout this passage we see David’s dependence on God. It is clear that David recognizes he needs God to make it through this crazy life and world. This David knew what it was like to feel as though he was walking through the darkest valley. At one point in his life he has been anointed the new King of Israel and is a well-loved warrior hero. Yet, the ruling King who was losing his mind makes David an outlaw and tracks him all over the country trying to kill him.

How would you feel? The great prophecy anoints you as the next King and the current king is hunting you down like an animal. Yet, all throughout this process David is faithful to God in the way he lives and leads the men that become outlaws with him. He even has a couple of opportunities to kill the current, crazy king and passes because he does not believe God to have called him to kill the king. Now that is impressive. During this time he knew what it was like to need to be restored, to be hungry, to be in danger, and all the while, he finds all he needs through his dependence on God.

He even depended on God to the point that he was able to be truly honest, and real with God. There are many Psalms that to us in this modern-day seem odd as David seems to yell at God and share his frustration with God in ways in which we are typically uncomfortable.

Here is the thing, what is David’s secret? What leads him to be so honest, so transparent, so real, and dependent on God? Well in Psalm 51:16-17 we see a glimpse.
Certainly you do not want a sacrifice, or else I would offer it; you do not desire a burnt sacrifice. The sacrifices God desires are a humble spirit – O God, a humble and repentant heart you will not reject.

Many years later, David is now King and is confronted by a new prophet after committing probably his biggest blunder ever (sleeps with a married woman, gets her pregnant, and then murders her husband after his deceptive attempts to resolve the problem fail). All of this is going on and here we see David’s heart as he repents and turns back to God.

Although the sacrificial system was in place, David understood what was missed by most. The sacrificial system was not what God wanted, it was simple a symbol that would point to Jesus a system that would display faith. I have probably said it a million times now, why would someone sacrifice one of their most valuable objects to God unless they had faith in that God and responded in obedience (because of faith) to what God asked?

Now before you start writing me emails about how I am wrong, surely there were many who missed the faith aspect and were sacrificing their valuable possessions to try to earn God’s favor. Just as many try to “be good” today and earn God’s favor surely there were Jews who tried to “be good” and earn God’s favor during David’s time. Those who fall into that, then and now, miss the point that they cannot earn God’s favor through works, but that they receive God’s grace when they respond to his grace through faith.

Back to the point. David says that he knows God does not care about him going and offering sacrifices, which David had the resources to easily do. David understood that God desired his heart. God desired David coming to God in humility and with repentance. The amazing thing is nothing has changed.

To come to God with humility we must admit that we are not God and that He is. If we are able to do that we are able to see we have not always followed his ways of doing things in our lives. Thus, we humbly come before God with repentance, or committing to forsake how we have lived apart from God’s and His ways and instead return to Him and live according to His ways.

Here is the best part for us and for David. David says, this type of heart or soul God will not reject. Did you know that you can approach and know God who created the universe if you would simply respond to him with a humble and repentant heart in faith. Even more, you can continue to depend on him each day with a humble heart that is choosing to follow Him and experience a type of passion that like David even when you go through the darkest valleys of life you will not be afraid. Even when going through the darkest of valleys and you feel at the end of your rope you can be restored and refreshed.

Take a chance with David’s secret to being a man after God’s own heart and depend on Jesus. You will never regret it.