Monday, April 12, 2010

Student Devotion Week 30: King David: Seeking God's Heart

Key Verse: Acts 13:22 "After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'"

When David was young, he was a shepherd who looked after his father's sheep. He spent his days looking for grazing land, protecting the sheep from wild animals, and thinking. A shepherd's life is lonely, and David had a lot of time to think about God. As a musician, he took many of those thoughts and created some of the great passages in the book of Psalms. David had a heart for God.

During those years the Israelites were locked in a fierce battle with the Philistines. Their chief warrior was a giant known as Goliath. He stood nine feet tall and carried a spear with a tip that weighed 15 pounds. While David was delivering some food to his three brothers serving in the Israelite army, he heard the challenger from Goliath. David couldn't believe no one would fight this man who dared to defy the army of the living God.

With five smooth stones and a sling, David took on the giant. The years David spent in solitude as a shepherd prepared him for this battle. While he was experienced with a sling, a weapon he'd used to protect his sheep form wild animals, his greatest assets were a heart for God and a belief that with God anything was possible. Armed with courage and the Spirit of the Lord, David took down the giant with one stone.

The Bible states that David was a man after God's own heart. And his love for God had intensified during his lonely days as a shepherd boy. So when it came time to stand up to a pagan giant, David took the challenge because of his deep love for God.

David would soon become the king of Israel. God was preparing to use David in a powerful way.

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