David was nothing without the Lord. He was a lone shepherd. The event that catapulted him was a lucky slingshot that killed a giant man. He was a no-name if ever there was one. In fact, the only thing that distinguished him according to the Bible was that he was “a man after God’s heart.” From the foundation of that one singular passion, God magnified and grew, even created, a great leader.
One can almost imagine the working out of God’s heart when it says, I can almost see God, after Saul had disobeyed yet again, pausing and scanning the landscape looking for one, anyone, with a singular heart towards Him. (”The eyes of the Lord search to and fro to strengthen those whose heart is fully committed to Him.” 2 Chron. 16:9) Then His eyes settle on a young boy, not yet a man, on a hillside watching sheep. God looks beneath the surface, because that is what He always does, and sees David’s heart. Perhaps He also saw all the seeds within that boy that would one day lead to his disastrous affair with Bathsheba and even more disastrous plot leading to Uriah’s death. But He also saw David’s longing heart.
David, the poet and musician, prayed, “One thing I ask that I will seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple” (Psalm 27:4). You can almost hear it, “Oh God, you are my God. Earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (Psalm 63:1)
Nothing has changed three thousand years later. God’s eyes still scour the earth in search of men and women, boys and girls with that heart that longs for Him. He doesn’t need the gifted or charismatic, the smart or driven. He doesn’t need outward beauty or eloquence of word. God’s heart longs to be first in our heart. That is all.
In this regard, I fail time and again. I turn my heart toward lesser things: the applause of others, the accumulation of glittering toys, the safety and control of carefully crafted circumstances. These are not so bad if I keep them as “second things” behind my first love for God.
Am I cultivating a heart that seeks God first? Our hearts, which includes our mind, will, emotions, and decisions, follow our habits and intentions. Worship, silence, space to breathe, His Word, fellowship, Sabbath all feed our soul. My heart leans toward what I feed it.
I will get it wrong often. I simply know that the Father of the prodigal son runs towards His beloved child as soon as he makes that turn, that first step toward Him.