The Man After God's Own Heart

I have been reading 1 and 2 Samuel the past few days. The story of David always intrigues me—a man after God’s own heart. Because his story reads like a great epic novel, I find it easy to get lost in the story and fail to glimpse the reality of God in the story, even though God plays a pivotal and vital role. I can fall prey to viewing Him as a great literary character instead of the living God, both then and now.

Today is Good Friday, what those in the literary world would call the climax of the greatest love story ever told. The climax is the point of a story where the tension or action reaches its height; the crisis point of the plot.

After reading of Saul’s death and David’s rise to power, I reflected on Good Friday and how the greatest sacrifice changed my life and how this change differentiated me from the man “after God’s own heart.”

Because “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son” (John 3:16) and because Jesus prayed, “My Father, if this (crucifixion) cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done,” I am blessed with the Holy Spirit living inside of me and continually praying for me.

Since I live in a post-crucifixion and resurrection world, I cannot fathom what it would be like to have to rely on a prophet to speak to me. If I want to know what God is telling me, all I need to do is listen.

This thought got me to thinking about David again. Before he acted on anything, he first sought the council of God. As I reflected on this, I realized that David was, indeed, a mighty man. I also realized some of the challenges of ancient Israel are not so different from the challenges modern Christians face when seeking the council of the Lord.

While Saul still reigned as king, God directed Samuel to anoint David as the new king of Israel. At this point, an evil spirit had already entered Saul. As time goes on and David gained popularity, King Saul became jealous and sought to kill David.

One thing that strikes me about David is how, even after being told he will be king, he still reveres Saul as the Lord’s anointed. He could very easily say to himself, “The Lord chose me to rule in place of the man, Saul, who is trying to kill me. I would do well to avenge myself by killing Saul, and become king. After all, that is what God wants. Wouldn’t I be justified in killing the king since he is trying to kill me?”

David’s men thought he should kill Saul when he had the chance. These are the rules of war; kill or be killed. Yet, David, justified though he may have been by human standards, sought nothing more than the will of God. He knew God did not need his help. He knew killing Saul would go against God’s will.

How did David know this? Simple. He asked.

Before David did anything, he sought the council of God.

“So David inquired of the Lord, saying, ‘Shall I . . .’”

Only after the Lord gave him an answer, did he go to a certain location or fight against a certain people. He knew God was with him because he asked. He did not go if God told him not to go.

(Imagine what would have happened had David acted without first consulting God. Fortunately for us, we don’t have to imagine. We simply have to wait until the 11^th chapter of 2 Samuel.)

This got me to thinking, how did David hear God’s voice? Where did he go? What did he do? After all, David did not have Jesus and the Holy Spirit yet. There was no temple yet and the Ark was not with him.

Then, I remembered two things:

1)      David had a priest with him. Chapter 21 and 22 of 1 Samuel tell the story of King Saul seeking Abiathar’s life. He seeks refuge with David and David tells him, “Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life, for you are safe with me.”

 

2)      Back in Chapter 16 of 1 Samuel, we learn that after Samuel anoints David, “the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward.”

David could hear the voice of God because he had a priest to consult and the Spirit of the Lord dwelling inside of him, much like we do today.

As I reflected upon this, I pictured David finding a quiet place to pray, bringing his petitions to God, and remaining rooted in his spot, silent and attentive until he heard God’s answer. It reminded me of my beloved Abbey of Gethsemani, walking in the woods, sitting in silence, waiting until I heard the voice of God.

We have that same potential and power right where we are. I miss the solitude of Gethsemani and the ease of experiencing God in those woods, but the truth of the matter is that I can hear Him just the same from my chair in my room where I type these words right now.

The problem I have is that, at Gethsemani, I have several days of quiet solitude to detox from the world and prepare myself to hear God’s voice. Here, in my everyday world, I have life waiting for me, the ticking clock on the wall reminding me of the responsibilities clamoring for my attention, the ringing phone reminding me of the outside world vying for my attention. Here, in my little world, life waits on the other side of the door, diminishing my time with God to minutes instead of days.

This is life. So, what can I do about it? I cannot run off to Gethsemani every time I long for God. I cannot take days off from life every time I need a boost. But, I can do little things. I can go for a walk and leave my phone at home. I can wake up a few minutes earlier and start my day before the rest of the world.

As my pastor suggests, I can start by taking just five more minutes for my prayer time. And, instead of closing my Bible, saying “amen,” then running out the door to begin the day, I can sit in silence, focus on my first true love, and wait for Him to speak to me. I may not hear Him every time, but at least I’m listening.

On this blessed Good Friday, I suggest we all take just five minutes to listen to the One who loved us enough to die for us. Don’t ask for anything today. Simply thank Him and just be in His presence.