The pages of the Bible, both Old and New Testament speak about David, the son of Jesse, the shepherd, the second King of Israel. In the New Testament account of Israel’s history, the Apostle Paul speaks of David as a man after the heart of God, one that will do everything God wants him to do. I love the story of this Old Testament saint. In fact, he is one of my biblical mentors. You can find my version of David’s story here, Lessons from my mentors
There are two key ingredients about David’s life that help a Christ-follower on the unexpected journey to a close personal relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
First, David is said to possess a passion for God. Something happened in the life of David where he encountered the living God in such a way as to ignite in him a desire, or longing to know God. In other words, it was not a social interaction with the being known as God, but rather a committed dedication to getting close to him.
Secondly, God says that David will do everything I want him to do. David surrendered his life to know this God, follow him as well as obey the things he said to do. This is extremely important to understand in a close personal relationship with the godhead.
David was far from perfect. In one place he rounded up his men to take another man’s life for refusing to repay a good deed; the man’s wife intervened, and David repented. In another place he cut off part of the king’s robe as proof that he did not want to kill the king; God the Holy Spirit convicted him for doing that, and David repented. In another place he had a man killed under the guise of being slain in battle; God sent a prophet to confront David and he repented.
The reality of life is that humanity lives in a sin-filled, fallen world full of every conceivable trap to ensnare humanity. Like David, Christ-following humanity will be tripped up. A close personal relationship is not about being perfect, saying the right things while masking the hidden intent of the heart.
A close personal relationship with the godhead is about finding the heart of David to passionately follow God and do everything he asks of you. At times, like David, you will fail, but also like David, you will repent instead of making excuses.
In one of the writings of David found in the Old Testament book of Psalms, David cries out to God. He asks God to create in him a clean, pure, righteous heart. David prayed this prayer after his encounter with the prophet confronts him about having the soldier killed. This is the kind of heart that is after God’s heart—I really screwed up, and totally sinned; Father, forgive me.
I know you have experienced something like David experienced—hopefully not as extreme as having someone killed—because all of humanity (starting in the Eden Garden) has experienced it. As someone on the outside looking in, it is easy to say what you would do, but when face-to-face with making the right decision, it is rarely easy.
This is where the heart like David becomes so important. David trusted God to do the right thing in his life, even though he was totally wrong. Therefore, instead of making excuses, he confessed. The consequences were very hard, but God was very gracious.