A Heart Like David’s

Do you know how much God truly loves you? Or do you doubt that fact? Remind yourself of John 3:16 and read it out loud. Let it be like your spiritual daily vitamin.

“For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (AMP)

That’s how much God loves you—and everyone He created! Sometimes, when doubt creeps in, we question what God could possibly do with these lives of ours. After all, over time, we may have ended up a bit bruised and broken in places and have probably done or said things we now regret. We know all our imperfections … and are confident God does too.

And when we doubt God’s love for others, we fail to see His image in them and wonder how they could ever be used for anything good. We see leaders, such as in the political and religious realms, and judge them by our own standards and expectations. We might say, “He isn’t polished enough” and point out his rough edges. Or say that person has a sordid, troubled or sketchy past. Or even say they don’t have the right demeanor, enough experience, or the right education.

But what about Moses? He had a speech impediment and told God to choose someone else, killed someone, and did not always do as God commanded.

And Simon Peter had a hot temper, cut off someone’s ear, and denied even knowing Jesus.

How about Paul? He was responsible for killing many of the first Christ followers.

And then there’s King David. In spite of David’s sins, including having an affair and setting up circumstances for his mistress’s husband to be killed, God was later moved by David’s repentant heart. Yes, David had some major character flaws, but God was still able to use him. Only God could read David’s heart and see his true sorrow. He forgave David and used him mightily—and through David, God chose Jesus’ family line! David proved himself to be “a man after God’s own heart,” as Scripture tells us.

The repentant hearts of Moses, Simon Peter, Paul, and David all moved God the Father. And our repentant hearts do the same.

Only God can read people’s hearts. So, the very one you might least expect to be, or become, a great leader may, in fact, be the person God uses to do something fantastic.

But God has selected [for His purpose] the foolish things of the world to shame the wise [revealing their ignorance], and God has selected [for His purpose] the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong [revealing their frailty]. (1 Corinthians 1:27)

Father God, help us to see ourselves and others through Your eyes instead of our own. And help us to see the potential You’ve placed in each one of us to live out our calling. Let us all know that we were designed by You to keep growing more and more into Your likeness. Help us to always have a heart that’s for You, so that, like David, you might say that we, too, are people after Your own heart.

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Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP), Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org.