Wednesday 25 July 2012

A Woman After God's Own Heart

Last Sunday the lesson I was teaching for children's church was entitled, "David - Man of Destiny." Basically the aim was to show the precious little ones that God chose David because he had a heart after God's own heart. And in preparing for the lesson and preparing my heart to teach the children, I learnt so much.

David loved God. When you read a lot of what he wrote in the Psalms, you feel his heart of love for the Lord. He had a genuine, undefiled love for the Lord which then flowed to other areas of his life. I felt a rebuke from the Lord that somewhere along the line I have lost that genuine, deep love for the Lord. It's not that I don't love the Lord, on the contrary! But there is a difference between loving the Lord and loving the Lord with all your heart, soul and strength. David said "As the deer pants for the water so my soul longs for You." That is a deep longing for the Lord which I realised I had begun to forfeit for the sake of "doing things for the Lord."

One thing I realise is that there is no substitute for loving the Lord with my all. My relationship with the Lord is the one thing that is precious to me that no one could ever take away from. It can be as deep as I desire it to be or it can be as shallow as I let it be.

Back to David, he would spend hours with the sheep in the field (that would be so awesome) and guess what he probably did all day? He played worship to the Lord on his harp, he sung to the Lord, he wrote songs to the Lord, he prayed! He spent the day communing with God and thus he was able to trust the Lord like he did. He got to know the Lord's heart through much time spent with Him.

When a bear or a lion would come after his sheep, David had no problem trusting the Lord to help him kill the bear or the lion because he had come to know how strong and how mighty his God was!

But his time as a mere shepherd boy looking after his dad's sheep prepared David to be the king of Israel. As he got to know the Lord more, he grew in wisdom and understanding so that even when he was king, he had wisdom which came straight from the Lord. He had learnt to hear the voice of the Lord and as he continued to walk with the Lord, he heard His voice more and more.

Even when he sinned and messed up (as we all do), when he saw his state, he was finished and he repented before the Lord. From his heart of repentance came the greatest Psalm of repentance, Psalm 51. His heart was soft and pliable and the Lord could speak to him easily and thus use him mightily.

All this to say, I want to a woman after God's own heart. A woman who knows the heart of God and carries it for other people. A woman who trusts the Lord for EVERYTHING and learns to depend on Him with my whole heart. A woman who's rich in the wisdom of the Lord. A woman who communes with God daily, hourly, minutely! A woman who worships from my heart of hearts. A woman whose words are seasoned with love and grace. A woman who works diligently and faithfully. A woman who gives my life over and over again. A woman who serves like Jesus served. A woman who loves the unloveable. A woman who will touch the untouchable. A woman who seeks the Lord. A woman who prays. A woman who gives generously. A woman who is willing to be spent for the purposes of God. A woman who points people to the cross. A woman who repents quickly. A woman whose heart is completely surrendered to her Master. A woman who is gracious and not full of law... the list is endless. But when I die (and even now I would like to be known this way), the one epitaph I would love to have on my grave is "Buhe, a woman after God's own heart."

But this doesn't just come from nowhere. It's a heart I must cultivate. I have to invest into my relationship with the Lord. I must dig my wells deep in the Lord. Deep, deep and deeper still. "Lord help me, I want to love you with all my heart! Where I have begun to love other things before You, help me to love you again with all of my heart, soul and strength. Help me Jesus!"

So my encouragement this morning, be a man/woman after God's own heart! Run toward Him, run to know His heart and carry it! Spend time with Him in that secret place, where it's just you and Him and He has complete access to your very heart. If you've lost your first love, like I had... run to Him again. He's waiting for you today.

In His Hands
Buhe xxx