David, the Man After God’s Heart
Throughout August and on into the autumn, we are digging into the life of David, a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). I believe God will be at work in our hearts through His Word, and that He will us all as we walk faithfully into these later years of life. From youth to old age, David’s journey reflects a heart devoted to God, trusting His sovereignty through every season both good and bad. At every turn, God revealed His enduring grace to David as He does to all who are in Christ.
Fresh from the pasture, as a young shepherd David faces Goliath with unwavering faith:
“The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion… will rescue me from this Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:37).
His confidence wasn’t in himself but in God’s faithful track record and power in some very challenging circumstances! Psalm 23 declares,
“The Lord is my shepherd; I have what I need” (Psalm 23:1).
Our courage to face life rests in that same Shepherd who strengthened David, and who watches over our lives. It is true that after hitting the mountaintop of his career as king, David’s heart faltered in sin with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11). Yet, when confronted, he repented:
“I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13)
Psalm 51 is perhaps the most heartfelt of cries of repentance and the plea for forgiveness:
“Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Psalm 51:10).
David’s life shows that God’s grace restores the fallen; no one is beyond God’s power to draw to Himself. Our sure hope of salvation is secure in the perfect work of Jesus, not in our perfection. As followers of Jesus, our past mistakes do not define us; God’s mercy does.
The world says, “You will only ever be who you have been” but Jesus says, “You are who I am making you to be!”
In his final years, David prepared Solomon for the temple, saying,
“Be strong and courageous… the Lord God, my God, will be with you” (1 Chronicles 28:20).
Even as life was ebbing away from him, David’s heart remained fixed on God’s glory.
In Psalm 71:18 he prays, “Even when I am old and gray, God, do not abandon me… to proclaim your power to another generation.”
In the same way, your testimonies of God’s grace and faithfulness in the past and your prayers in the present will always be a foundation shape our church’s present and future.
David’s heart for God—trusting, repentant, and steadfast—encourages us to rest in God’s faithfulness.
As Psalm 92:14 promises, “They will still bear fruit in old age, healthy and green.”
Let’s move ahead, trusting in God’s sovereign grace, fruitful in the Good Shepherd’s hands, now and always.
In His grip,
Pastor Jamie
