To Know Him Is To Love Him

“…The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart…”

1 Samuel 13:14

 
As I read 1 Samuel 13 I am reminded of something D.L. Moody once said in that God is still looking for a man whose heart is completely loyal to Him and that D.L. Moody wanted to be that man. Here in chapter 13 the Lord is teaching the children of Israel a lesson that will need to be repeated again and again from generation to generation. That lesson being found in Zechariah 4:6 (KJV) where the Word of the Lord so powerfully exclaims, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” In human terms it would be ridiculous for the children of Israel to attempt to go into battle against the Philistines. Without the capability to make weapons of iron, what would they fight with, their bare hands? Defeat would be imminent.

The Israel army had no iron weapons and no ability to get their tools fashioned into weapons since the Philistines owned all the blacksmith shops in town. Israel was helpless in creating weapons of war. Talk about a disadvantage against your adversary! That’s exactly what the Lord desired. Israel soon discovered what you and I are discovering for ourselves too. God doesn’t need our help to gain the victory. Actually, we just get in His way. The Philistines reasoning here was simple. They kept the children of Israel oppressed, depressed, and ultimately demoralized. That’s what the enemy of our soul desires to do to us as well. Besides killing us the devil wants nothing more than to steal our hope. We do well, beloved, to remember that the Word of God declares to us through Isaiah the prophet in Isaiah 54:17 (KJV), “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.”

As we study 1 Samuel we understand more clearly that the Lord is continually looking for the man or woman who is after His own heart. The person who honestly prays, “not my will but Your’s be done” and then walks in His will throughout the day. God resisted the proud in Saul’s day the same way He resists the proud in ours too. The key to being raised up by the Lord is to be like David, the shepherd who would become the king. He was a simple shepherd boy who faithfully did the small things that nobody else would or wanted to do. He was faithful in the small things and he did them well as he did them with all his heart.

David’s life serves as a great reminder for ours today. Don’t forsake small beginnings, friend. David didn’t do his service to earn the accolades of man. David wasn’t looking for a position in the kingdom; David wanted nothing more than a relationship with his God. God sees and knows our hearts and He really does know the motive behind every deed we do. Don’t forget, the Lord is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him and those who day in and day out remain faithful to His plan for their lives. God’s purpose in our lives is no different from that of David’s. King David was far from perfect but God Himself says that David had a heart for God and wanted nothing more than to know the Lord in all facets of his life. God honors that kind of heart, both then and now.

God isn’t concerned about the size of our sacrifice; what He truly desires is that we want to know Him, and to know Him more, not more about the bible but rather, more about the God of the bible. Not head knowledge but heart knowledge, knowledge that comes by experience and experience that comes by walking with God. That’s why God created us in the first place, to know Him. Here is something to consider today. Is there an area of your life loved one where Jesus isn’t Lord, a place in your heart that you have not trusted completely to Him? Can we honestly and sincerely say today that we are seeking to be like David, men and women after the Lord’s heart if there are areas of our life that we have not surrendered to Him? Make it your aim today as I am mine, to press on to know the Lord completely in every facet of our lives, holding nothing back from Him knowing that God always honors that desire of our heart.

 
“Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord.”

Jeremiah 9:23-24

I LOVE YOU!