The Man After God's Own Heart

It's Sunday today.  I spent the morning at church and the afternoon at my parents where there is no TV.  They have a flat-screen, but you can only watch DVD's and VHS on it.  There is no satellite.   So I watched the football game via facebook (I obviously cared a TON about it) and jumped on the football bandwagon when the Hawks won.

So really, it was a quiet afternoon.  There were no boys yelling and throwing Skittles around, just my mom, little sister and my kids.  I crocheted myself a pair gloves while sitting and thinking on this morning's sermon.   Pastor Chuck had a great message, but in my mulling it over I got kinda stuck on the opening and found my mind wandering into a few things.

Psalms was mentioned at the beginning of the sermon, along with it's various authors, notably David, and our pastor made the point to mention how "real" Psalms was/is.   Psalms has long been my favorite book of the Bible for that very reason.  David is that character I've always felt like (had it been a different time and perhaps if I were a guy) we would have been best friends.  He has always been the most "real" person in the Bible to me.  So much so that my third child's middle name is "David" for that reason.  

David is that guy that say's it like it is.  I remember thinking one time as I read through Psalms, noting how the chapters went from extreme joy and praise to total lament and anguish, how maybe David was bipolar.  But then I thought through my sometimes extreme feelings and how closely I could identify with David's feelings (and I'm not bipolar) and I realized that no, David is just that guy that say's things how they are.  Things are going good?  He's that guy dancing in the streets and praising God.  Things are going bad?  He is fasting, weeping and lamenting his situation.  He is not afraid of what other's think, he is a real guy with real feelings and he's not afraid to show them.

David is also that guy that made a whole lot of mistakes.  He was a murderer and adulterer. Our pastor cracked a joke today on how David probably wouldn't have been approved for eldership in the church, and it's probably true.  But yet the Bible says that David was a man after God's own heart.

I love that.

I love that even though we know of his many transgressions and faults, David is still known as a man after God's own heart.  He's not known as "David, the adulterer" or "David, the man with a lust problem" or "David, the murderer."  He is "The man after God's own heart."

He is that reminder to me that it is ok to question things, to be angry, to be upset, to cry, to be real when things just flat out suck.  And he's also that reminder to praise God and give thanks for all that is good.  God is the giver of good gifts and expressing our joy and thankfulness is a beautiful thing.

He's also that reminder to keep trying.   I fail SO often at life and it can be discouraging to look at all the mistakes I make.  Yet God is there, waiting for me.

I hope someday that I am not known for my mistakes (though I'm sure they are mostly well-known) but instead am known for my desire to know God intimately like David did.  To truly be a "woman after God's own heart."  How amazing would that be?

That's all I have for today.

GO HAWKS!!!!!!!