I shared this on my Facebook page yesterday morning so some of you may have already seen it, but my roommate, Lynne, encouraged me to share it on here too. :) I hope this encourages you this week. Remember, you are not defined by your sin.
When we think of David being a "man after God's own heart," it's easy for us to think that He must have been so perfect, so focused on striving after the Lord, so dedicated to Him. And he was, for a time, but we often forget that David also strayed and made some pretty big mistakes. His life was a series of successes and failures. The same young shepherd boy who killed Goliath and became a King also committed adultery and murder in His life. Yet despite his sins, God never removed the title "man after My own heart" from David, or stopped using Him. It's easy to think that being a man or woman after God's heart means that we're "perfect," but it doesn't. In fact, we might make some pretty big mistakes. But it was David's deeply repentant heart during those sins and focus back on the Lord that gave Him the title that He is famous for today.
David wasn't defined by his sins, and we shouldn't be either. It's human nature for us to focus on the negatives and on the sin, but we must realize that God doesn't see things that way- He sees us as His sons and daughters, redeemed by the blood of Christ if we have accepted Him as our Savior. In addition, God took David's mistakes and used them for His glory, in the writing of many powerful Psalms that we use today to express our repentance to God. Being a "man after God's own heart" isn't some unattainable, perfectionistic, or legalistic title. It simply means you're seeking God first in ALL things, and you're willing to surrender and redirect your life back to His path when you do (inevitably) mess things up, and realize that God will use your mistakes to grow you for your good and for His glory.
I hope you're blessed by this song this morning, it is one of my favorites and completely applies to this post.
