“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (Psalm 63:1)

People read about the transgressions of David, the king and wonder how God could speak of him as a man after His own heart. Because of the Bible, we know a lot about the sins of David. Most of us are probably glad that the book doesn’t have a chapter about us. We keep the worst ones to ourselves and hope that if someone else knows about them, they will keep quiet. God tells us the truth about David, and it isn’t pretty from our point of view. We have great difficulty in seeing past the surface when it comes to other people.

When David was chosen to be king by God, it came as a surprise to Samuel. Remember what God said to Samuel? “For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Sam. 16:7)  Before David was anointed king, God made him His choice based on one thing, David’s heart.

David was a sinner, much like you and me. We say his sins were worse than ours, but we categorize sins differently than God does. Read the selected verse again and think about where these words come from. Instead of focusing on what David did, focus instead on who David was, inside.

Task for Today: Ask yourself if you could make David’s statement from the center of your heart? Look around you and proclaim that God, not stuff is your God. What do you really seek? What do you thirst for? Can you match the intensity of David’s cry? Instead of comparing sins, why don’t we compare desire for God? God is looking at your heart today.