What was it that made David God's choice to be king over His people? It wasn't the obvious things that usually set someone apart. When Samuel came to Bethlehem to anoint a new king, his first impression was that David's oldest brother, Eliab, was the one. But God had His own set of criteria for choosing a king. He wanted a man after His own heart. It wasn't his strength and stature. It wasn't his outward appearance or the leadership skills that came with his birthright. It wasn't age and experience. God looked on the heart. But what did He see when He looked at David's heart? He saw a young man whose soul thirsted after God (Ps. 42:1). He saw a student who was dedicated to learning God's ways and following them. (Ps. 25:4) He saw a hungry soul who loved the Word of God like his necessary food. He saw a worshipper whose expressions of praise flowed from a thankful heart. And most of all, He saw a man of faith who believed that God would do mighty things through him if he would only place himself in God's hand. David's victory over Goliath is just the outward fruit of an inward reliance upon God that had been David's lifelong habit.
If we want to see God working in our life in this way, then we are going to have to develop the heart for God that David possessed. We cannot simply desire to see God's hand, we must seek His face. Too often we treat God like a mail-order catalog, when He wants to have an intimate personal relationship with us. The way that God works in our lives has everything to do with the relationship that we have with Him. So the first giant that we must face in order to be like David is a heart that is hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. We need to draw close to God so that he can do a work in us before he will ever do a great work through us. My prayer for you today is that you become a child after God's own heart.
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