A Woman After God’s Heart

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After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ Acts 13:22

David was known as a man after God’s own heart.

The man who lusted after Bathsheba. Committed adultery. Murdered the husband of her lover.

And yet this man, with all of his failures, is known as a man after God’s own heart.

My first question becomes how does this apply to us as believers today? It means that no matter what the failures in our past, our futures are unlimited with God. He doesn’t see the multitude of sins. He doesn’t label us with our failures. He looks at our hearts. He knows our intentions. He knows how we long to serve Him, even if we mess up. We should never let our past mistakes color our futures when we are with God.

My next question is what characteristics did David possess that made him a man after God’s own heart? Whatever they are, I want to possess them too. I want my heart to be pure, fully devoted to God. I want God to one day say, “Dena was a woman after my own heart.”

Here are a few characteristics that I see in God’s life that I pray will characterize my life.

Repentance.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Psalm 51:1-4

David messed up when he took Bathsheba. He was a wretched sinner, just like you and me. But what made David pure is his brokenness over his sin, his devastation over his failures before God.

The entire 51st Psalm is one of repentance, of brokenness over David’s sin. I can just see him as he sits down before God and begins to pour out his heart. The words fall from his mouth as the tears stream down his face. He is completely torn up over his actions, over the fact he failed the One who has elevated him to a place of honor before man.

I know I have seen the ugliness of my heart, and I find myself on my face before God seeking His forgiveness—a gift He is always willing to give. Perhaps we all need to take the time to allow God to search us and try us and see if there be any wickedness within us a little more often—just so we can have the sweet gift of having His mercy poured out over us.

Mercy on his enemies

The king commanded Joab, Abishai and Ittai, “Be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake.” And all the troops heard the king giving orders concerning Absalom to each of the commanders. 2 Samuel 18:5

David was a warrior. He knew how to fight a battle and utterly destroy his enemies. He had done it often, always with God’s direction.

But he also knew how to show mercy to his enemies. David’s son, Absalom, attempted to overthrow his father’s kingdom. It would have been justifiable under the circumstances for David to destroy his enemy, but he begged his men to show mercy on Absalom.

It wasn’t just his son, however. Remember when Saul was hunting down David, attempting to kill him to protect the kingdom for his own dynasty? David had multiple opportunities to kill Saul, and yet he respected the office. He respected that God had placed Saul in command, and he refused to hurt King Saul.

It stands to reason that David understood everything He had came from God. He trusted God to keep His word, in His time. He did not allow anger and bitterness to eat away at His heart. Instead, he left it all in God’s hands.

Humility.

David sent out his troops, a third under the command of Joab, a third under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. The king told the troops, “I myself will surely march out with you.”

But the men said, “You must not go out; if we are forced to flee, they won’t care about us. Even if half of us die, they won’t care; but you are worth ten thousand of us. It would be better now for you to give us support from the city.” 2 Samuel 18:2-3

David knew his position and everything he had was a direct gift, a blessing, from the God of Israel. He didn’t allow his fame or his success or his wealth to become a source of pride. He knew that God could—at any given time—rip everything away from him and give the blessings to someone else.

And because of this truth, David was a humble man.

David could go directly to God and find direction. David could rely on his own wisdom to lead the nation of Israel. He could have done anything he wanted.

Yet, he knew that the best thing he could do was seek the advice of godly advisors—and follow it. He listened to the men of wisdom who surrounded him. He allowed humility to be a trait that oozed from his heart, a hear that was fully devoted to God.

Undivided heart.

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. Psalm 84:10

David’s heart was fully devoted to God in all he said and in all he did. Serving God—no matter how lowly the position—was the best gift he could imagine. There was no place he wanted to be more than in the presence of the Father.

What about you? Is being in your Father’s presence your favorite place to be? Does your heart thrill as you walk into a room filled with praises lifted to Him? Do you find yourself longing to lift your heart and hands to Him? Is He your greatest love?

I’ve definitely had times in my life where I could answer those questions a resounding yes without a moment’s hesitation. Other times, I can’t honestly say His presence is my greatest desire. I want it to be, but there are times when life has just overwhelmed me, sucked the joy out of my relationship with Him. But I want it to be my greatest joy. I want my heart to leap within me when I hear praises lifted to Him. I want to have an undivided heart just like David did.

I don’t know about you, but I long to be a woman after God’s own heart. I pray He searches me and knows my thoughts and leads me in the way everlasting. I pray He replaces my heart of stone with a heart of flesh. I pray He makes me more like Him each and every day.

7 replies
  1. samo lucija
    samo lucija says:

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    SRCU MARIJINU ZA OBRA?ENJE GREŠNIKA
    ______________________________________
    O preblaga Marijo, uto?ište grešnika zbog boli tvoga Srca puna milosr?a i zbog smrti tvoga ljubljenoga Sina Isusa molim te izmoli svim grešnicima svijeta milost iskrenog obra?enja, pogotovu onima koji lošim primjerom i krivim naukama druge navode na grijeh. Srce Marijino puno su?iti pomozi grešnicima.
    _____
    (Iz molitvenika Srce Marijino od p. Hattlera)
    Gospina poruka preko Mirjane, 02.03.2018. :
    “Draga djeco, velika je djela u meni u?inio Nebeski Otac kao što ih ?ini u svima onima koji Ga nježno ljube i vjerno i odano služe.
    Djeco moja, Nebeski Otac vas ljubi pa po njegovoj ljubavi ja sam tu s vama.
    Govorim vam, zašto ne želite vidjeti znakove?
    Uz njega je sve lakše i bol življena s njim je lakša jer postoji vjera.
    Vjera pomaže u boli, a bol bez vjere vodi u o?aj.
    Bol življena i Bogu prinesena, uzdiže.
    Pa zar nije moj Sin po svojoj bolnoj žrtvi otkupio svijet?
    Ja sam kao njegova majka bila s Njim u boli i patnji kao što sam sa svima vama.
    Djeco moja, s vama sam u životu, u boli, u patnji, u radosti i ljubavi.
    Zato imajte nadu.
    Nada ?ini da se shvati da je tu život.
    Djeco moja, ja vam govorim, moj glas govori vašoj duši, moje srce govori vašem srcu.
    Apostoli moje ljubavi, o koliko vas moje maj?insko srce ljubi.
    Kolikim vas mnogim stvarima želim nau?iti.
    Koliko moje maj?insko srce želi da ste potpuni, a to možete biti samo kada u vama budu ujedinjeni duša, tijelo i ljubav.
    Molim vas, kao svoju djecu, mnogo molite za crkvu i za njene službenike, vaše pastire, da Crkva bude onakva kakvu je moj Sin želi, bistra kao izvorska voda i puna ljubavi!
    Hvala vam!”
    LODE A MARIA
    3 marzo – Mistero di Maria
    O Madre mia Maria!
    O benedetta fra tutte le donne, io ho una calda confidenza in Te, percio’ come il prodigo della parabola, io mi getto nelle tue braccia, io mi rifugio nel tuo cuore a piangere la mia miseria e i miei peccati, a cercar il tuo materno soccorso.
    Non mi rigettare dal tuo cospetto, o Vergine tenerissima, ma soccorrimi perche’ spero di ottenere tutto dal tuo materno Cuore Immacolato. Dammi la grazia e la forza, la virtu’ e la vita, la luce e la pace, la misericordia e il perdono, la purezza e la gloria del paradiso, o dolcissima Santa Maria.

    Reply
  2. BO
    BO says:

    Hello Dina,
    God bless you more abundantly for your blog. In the middle of last night I was not able to sleep, i had a lot of fears for what the future held for I and my son.
    I have been seperated from my narcissit husband since early last year and soon i will file for divorce.
    Your blog has given me a lot hope for the future and i m looking forward to a time when God will begin to use me too to bring hope to Christian women and men.

    Reply
    • Dena Johnson
      Dena Johnson says:

      So glad God can use my words as encouragement. I’m so sorry for all you are walking through, but be assured God is STILL good! He brings beauty from brokenness

      Reply
  3. mike y.
    mike y. says:

    Beautifully written. I’m sure God is pleased with your yearning and will give you your hearts desire to be a woman after His own heart. He has begun a good work in you and will bring it unto completion. That we may all have this passion ignited in our hearts. Thank You

    Reply

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