After God's Own Heart

Psalm 24.3-6
"3 Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. 5 He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob."

1 Samuel 13.14b
"...the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people."
I always marveled at the fact that David went down in history as "a man after [the LORD's] own heart." There's simply something special about that phrase. It immediately makes one desire that same relationship with God, and rightly so. Beloved, I believe the most important priority we have here on this Earth is to seek after God's own heart. We don't just want God to be someone there when we get into trouble or who we half-heartedly talk to on Sunday mornings or when our children ask us to pray with them. We want ALL of God. Such a relationship is mirrored in the male and female. When we really begin to develop a relationship with someone, we slowly begin to desire all of them--even their flaws and imperfections. We want them to be a part of our lives in every way, and we wish to know everything about them.

It's no different with God. In fact, it's a superior love! But how would such a relationship appear? The Psalmist lays it out here in Psalm 24. He makes a query as to "who may ascend the hill of the LORD" and "who may stand in His holy place?" So how do we get to God? How do we see Him in the fullest and truest possible form? That is what the Psalmist wants to know. His solution is simple and yet beautiful. We can be in unity and communion with the Lord when we "[have] clean hands and a pure heart." See the connection between seeking God and growing in a relationship in Him? King David certainly saw the connection. He lived day by day seeking after God with all of his heart and all of his life, listening to Him and consulting Him in almost everything he did. Oh, how we could learn to do this!

Beloved, I hope you are seeking after God's heart. Seek Him as the greatest treasure in your life, and you will not be disappointed. Jesus says that "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6.21). Christ died so that we might live in communion and eternal life with Him. What a treasure! Seek that treasure today by building a firm relationship with God. Keep working at it, and I promise God will help you along. He wants to have a deep and personal relationship with you, but relationships go two ways. Tell Jesus you want to seek Him, and He will come running to meet you right where you are. Amen.
With love in Christ,


Austin Aldrich