New Understandings

I don't know about you, but for me every once in awhile something that I thought I understood suddenly takes on a whole new meaning. A light bulb moment goes off in my brain.

I had one of those experiences this weekend as we sat outdoors listening to the ancient words of King David in Psalm 63:

"O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly;
My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,
in a dry and weary land where there is no water."

We were sitting in the shade on a well watered lawn, but the surrounding campground area was a dry desert. With that vista it wasn't hard to imagine the wilderness where David was hiding from his conspiring son Absalom. The entire psalm, or prayer, flows in a progression of praise to God, not because of David's circumstances but in spite of them.

It was pointed out that David was characterized by seeking God through the whole course of his lifetime, not just when things were tough. We were reminded of what Samuel said of David in 1 Samuel 13:14 " The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart,..."

That's when it occurred to me: David didn't follow God perfectly to be "a man after God's own heart" like I had previously thought. David was after God's heart. David wanted to know God. He wanted to have God's heart for His people, for his enemies. David was seeking God.

And that's what God wants! A heart that is sincerely seeking Him! Not a perfectly behaved, Norman Rockwell kind of a woman (or man in David's case) but a person who really wants to know God and to love Him and glorify His name through their days.

Wholehearted pursuit. Not "well maybe I will try this out and see if this Christianity thing works for me" but really being ALL IN. Following Him is an adventure of epic proportions. And it's okay to make mistakes along the Way! God expects us to actually. That's why He sent His Spirit to guide us on the Way.

So really, it's all about God. He desires a wholehearted relationship with us, He provides the means through His Son and He provides the strength and guidance for us to actually follow! And He gives us a heart of flesh and not of stone that we are able to love Him even a little. What a fabulous God we can serve!

I want to be a woman after God's heart. How about you?