When we see the story of David, we read about a man who committed serious sins, ones which would have condemned other kings in the eyes of both God and the Biblical historians. And yet he is held up as “a man after God’s heart.”
That phrase is rarely used in scripture, but the idea is a person who actively seeks God’s heart – seeks God’s approval, love, and care. For all David’s faults, he never wavered in seeking the Lord. When the Lord called, he answered. When the Lord punished, he accepted that punishment without resentment and without excuse. As a result of that faith, David was able to obtain grace and mercy.
How do we use the story of David? Is it to excuse our own sin and find license to live according to our own hearts? Or is it an example of the mercy available to us when we submit ourselves to God and truly seek His will in our lives, and not our own? In looking at David’s life, we see four characteristics that stand out:
- David truly loved God – not just in word, but in deed. He did not love a God that he invented, or one that he did not fully understand, but he saw in God a righteousness, grace, and justice that appealed to him, and drove him to worship.
- David extended grace to others – We see David’s reign marked by justice and equity, which came from his recognition of those qualities in God. As a result, we see David willing to be merciful to his enemies in defeat, looking for ways to honor those who were weaker than he, with a concern for the people over which he ruled.
- David humbled himself before God – he constantly thanked God for his blessings, seeking God’s will above his own. In the times that he sinned – which were the exception and not the rule in his life – he turned to God and asked for mercy, repenting of his wrongdoing and accepting the consequences.
- David truly trusted God – even as God was punishing him, David always believed God would ultimately deliver him, that the promise God had made to him about preserving his throne would ultimately hold as long as refused to turn his back on the Lord.