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Becoming a Person After God's Own Heart
The key to becoming a person after God's own heart lies in three essential qualities: Obedience, Faith, and Worship (OFW). God desires each of His children to develop these characteristics, just as He found them in David, the shepherd boy who became king of Israel.
God's Sovereign Choices
God's sovereign choices often unfold behind the scenes, orchestrating events according to His perfect plan. When God rejected Saul as king due to his disobedience, He began preparing to install a new leader - one who would become known as a man after His own heart (Acts 13:22).
Three key principles emerge regarding God's sovereign choices:
- There are no accidents in life - everything occurs as part of God's larger plan (Romans 8:28, Isaiah 55:8-9, Psalm 37:23, 2 Corinthians 4:15-17)
- God is able to bring His plans to pass, never proposing what He cannot accomplish
- His sovereign choices extend to every area of life, even when the path includes temporary setbacks or failures
God's Surprising Choices
When Samuel arrived in Bethlehem to anoint the new king, God's choice proved unexpected. Jesse's eldest son Eliab, whose name means "God is father," appeared to be the obvious choice with his impressive physical presence. Yet God rejected him, along with the next six brothers:
- Abinadab ("my father is noble")
- Shamma ("astonishment")
- Four other brothers
None possessed the heart qualities God sought, despite their outward qualifications. Instead, God chose David - the youngest son who wasn't even invited to the selection process.
This demonstrates a crucial truth: God looks at the heart while humans look at outward appearances (1 Samuel 16:7). He often chooses those whom others overlook, transforming nobodies into somebodies for His purposes.
God's Specific Choices
God's choices are intentional and specific. He sent Samuel to a specific town, family, and person. When God chooses someone for His purposes, He looks for three key qualities:
- Ready - Those who maintain a heart of readiness, prepared to respond when called
- Reliable - Those who demonstrate faithfulness in ordinary, mundane responsibilities
- Redeemed - Those who have been saved and surrendered their lives to Christ
The first step in being used by God is salvation - He only calls those who belong to Him through redemption in Christ. After salvation, God develops character, integrity and faithfulness through everyday obedience.
Living as People After God's Heart
To become people after God's own heart requires:
- Maintaining a ready and available spirit
- Being faithful in small responsibilities
- Walking in obedience that flows from genuine faith and worship
- Recognizing that all ability and calling comes from God
- Staying humble and giving God the glory
- Being willing to serve wherever needed
The path to being used by God starts with salvation and continues through faithful obedience in ordinary circumstances. As we develop hearts of obedience, faith and worship, God can use us - not because of our abilities, but because of His work in transforming our hearts to reflect His own.