1 Samuel 13:14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.
1 Kings 11:4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.
Jeremiah 16:12 And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me
Jeremiah 32:39 And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me forever, for the good of them, and of their children after them
Ezekiel 33:31 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.
Some, like David, are a people "after God's own heart," seeking what His heart truly is toward them, and what His will is. Some, pretend to know Him, but seek a god that will follow their heart, and make them gods, to do their own will. Both can look like sincere Christians. But God knows the man/woman who is after His own heart. He seeks such.
Those who are after His own heart, when going through trials, will look to Him, seek His face, desire His will, even at the expense of their own comfort, wanting to come forth with a faith of pure gold. Those who seek a god after their heart, will become bitter in trials condemning God for allowing hardship or pain or suffering in their lives, saying, "God, why aren't you answering my prayers?" "Why are You letting this happen?" Now many of us ask those questions through our trials and have doubts and fears, but the difference is even in our seeming to be hurt by the God we love, we submit ourselves under His mighty hand, in faith that He will again lift us up in due time, and that all He allows/brings into our lives is for our eternal good and communion with Him.
1 Peter 5:6-10 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, (7) casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (8) Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (9) Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. (10) And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
Those who seek a god after their own heart, will be bitter, because God did not prove to be making things happen their way, for their temporal happiness, comfort, health and prosperity. They don't seek His face or His heart.
Those who are after HIS heart, whatever the pain they must endure, or hardship, do not want to fail to please Him, because of their love for Him. They fear to fail to find His will because they have learned to love His will, even when it means giving up and surrendering their own, even as Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He prayed, "Not my will, but Yours be done." If we have a heart after Him, our heart is truly after His will, not our own. We have learned our ultimate joy and life is wrapped up solely in His will for us and have learned to trust His love and His purpose, even when it means giving up what seems to be happiness and fulfillment in this world. Our ultimate happiness and fulfillment is only in being one with Him and abiding in His love.
The person who seeks a god after their own heart desires their happiness to be given now, regardless of God's will or the well-being of others in their lives. They are driven by their own selfish desires and want those around them and their god as well, to make that happen, and when they don't, they will seek elsewhere. Perhaps another religion or god, or another prophet or teacher, perhaps other people to fill the void they want filled, perhaps other circumstances. They will be ever seeking and never finding, because only when they give up their own will and embrace God's will they truly know Him. Only as they surrender to His will, will they be made able to see and learn of His heart for them and come to truly desire that. Because He loved us, we are enabled to be filled with that love as we surrender in faith to it, learning to know Him, and only then are we able to be fulfilled by it.
There are many professing Christians in the world, who have a vain hope, because their hope is in a false Jesus, and a false god. Their trust is in a false humanistic gospel that is no gospel at all. The truly good news is that though we are sinners separated from a holy perfect God, lost eternally, with no hope at all of saving ourselves, Jesus, Who is Immanuel, "God with us" came to us in the flesh and died, taking our sins upon Himself, becoming sin for us, taking all of sin's punishment, and now those who put their trust in Him, as He was, will be risen to new life unto God, and eternal life with Him, which we were created for initially. We were created to be totally fulfilled in His glory, His presence, His unspeakable love, forever without end. We were not ever to be our own gods, making our own way, fulfilled in ourselves. We will never find goodness or beauty or fulfillment in ourselves or be our own gods. And we will never find a true god that will give us that. We will only find the true meaning of what we were created for and to be in Christ, as we come to know Him and turn our hearts to Him and His will.
If you find your heart being pulled to the world, or distracted by life around you, you can come to Him, confessing such, and ask Him, "Lord make me a child after Your own heart." He will. Seek His face. Seek His Word, and know that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). He won't fail the one who seeks His very heart. The one who is not, will come to find all he seeks will backfire on him. It won't give him what he wants. He will end up disillusioned.
By sitting at the feet of Jesus, reading His Word, and letting it penetrate our very hearts, we find His Spirit molds our heart to be one with His, as we receive His Word by faith, and surrender our lives to it. But those who are not after HIS heart, are those who will shun His Word, or take only the parts that appeal to them, and combine it with the word of religious men that tickle their ears, and make them feel good without any conviction of sin. They won't listen to the Word of God that convicts them of their need to repent of sin and surrender to Him. They will also never find the life that comes from that. They'll go on thinking themselves to be Christians but following a false Jesus, that is only an idol and can do nothing for them. They receive a false Jesus but never turn in repentance (change of heart and mind) to the Jesus of the Bible Who alone can truly save them, give them His Spirit, and everlasting life.
Test yourself and see which you are...a man/woman after God's own heart, or a man/woman seeking a god after your own heart. Read His living Word. Let it take priority in your life. Submit to it as it reveals hidden things of the heart to you.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Job 13:15a Though he slay me, I will hope in him
His Word will expose and slay what needs to be in our hearts, but what comes out of that death is true life that will last forever and truly fulfill the void in our hearts we seek to fill. Don't hide from it, but let it have its work in you. Nothing we can find in this world is worth losing that or neglecting it.
Matthew 16:24-26 Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (25) For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (26) For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
Be one who seeks God's very heart. You won't be disappointed. In the process of finding His heart, your own will be saved, filled, and blessed. May it be so, Lord, for all who read this! Amen.
If you want to know more about this salvation and are not sure you are going to Heaven, you can know. His Word assures us how we can know. Click here to read more.
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