And when He had deposed Saul, He raised up David for them as king, to whom also He testified and said, I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man according to My heart, who will do all My will.
— Acts 13:22
Christians get involved with many good spiritual things. Some even give their lives to serve God and become very busy. You cannot say that God is not happy with them, just as you cannot say that a parent is not happy with an obedient child. However, we must ask ourselves: Are the spiritual things we do really according to God’s heart? What we do may seem so right, yet it may not be according to His heart at all.
Oh, how we need to see this! Paul tells us that in David God found someone who was after His own heart (Acts 13:22). He had found someone who could really serve Him in his generation. Some who led God’s people prior to David did a competent job but never knew what God was after. We can act according to God’s laws and principles, but if we are not after His heart, He will not be happy with us, regardless how successful or victorious we are. The Lord desires someone who cares about what He cares about. What God values is not how capable we are but whether or not we care for what is in His heart.
Adapted from David: After God’s Heart, pages 13-14.
Tomorrow: “Giving Our Lives to be After God’s Heart”