RUN LIKE A CHAMPION

It doesn’t take a long trip through the pages of history before we discover that all of the great men and women of God have had blemishes on their soul. To be a man or woman of God doesn’t mean being without sin. It’s just the opposite. It means we have been forgiven of sin — and out of that great bestowal of grace we long to do God’s will. The longing of our hearts is for the things on God’s heart.
David had plenty of imperfections. The stains of his soul were made obvious not only to those who knew him, but also to every generation since. But God still described David as a man after His own heart. Though David at times failed God miserably, he will always be know as a man who longed after God’s heart. So what does it mean to be someone after God’s heart?
First, David was honest in his heart. He asked, “Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?” He went on to answer his own question: “He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart” (Psalm 15:1, 2). David knew that to be a man after the God’s heart, he could not play games with God. He had to be deeply honest — with himself and with God. He knew that if he was going to live intimately with God, he had to be truthful in the deepest part of his soul.
Too many Christian leaders today play religious games. We often find our value and worth the same way the world finds them: through bucks and buildings. Or we spend our lives climbing the ladder of ecclesiastical success. We too often do things in the name of God for our own glory. But the true man or woman of God will continually ask the hard questions. They know they must be dead-level honest with God if they are going to be intimate with their Creator and Savior.
To have such honesty, those who long to know the heart of God must also have an open heart. They must allow God to search them and show anything that’s not pleasing to Him. All of us have blind spots. But not all of us are open to the searchlight of the Holy Spirit. If we all were, then many former leaders now on the sidelines would still be on the front lines. David said, “Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind” (Psalm 26:2). He repeated that request in Psalm 139. Because he was open to the examination of the Holy Spirit, David was described as a man who longed to know the heart of God.
Several years ago, I asked the men on our ministry’s Board of Directors to tell me if they saw anything in my life I needed to change. A couple hours after I asked that question, they scraped me off the floor. There were a lot of things they saw, and they were honest with me. Spiritually flattened, I had a choice to make. Did I really want to hear my faults and weaknesses, or was it just a religious exercise? I knew those men loved me and were open to share with me only because they wanted to see me succeed in the kingdom of God. Since then, I have attempted to allow the Holy Spirit to make the appropriate changes in my life. I know that a man of God isn’t necessarily without fault, but rather is someone who is honest about his weaknesses and open to the Holy Spirit’s correction.
But there was a third characteristic of David’s heart. He had a broken heart. David sinned … big time. Though he would have to experience the consequences, he was genuinely broken and repentant over sin. The man or woman of God cannot cover his sin. He must be open, honest, and broken over any moral failure. David said, “A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51: 17).
Brokenness is a result of loving God. It’s not a reaction to getting caught. It’s not a way to try to escape the consequences of our wrong. It’s knowing we have truly hurt the Father. That’s why David said earlier in the psalm, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight” (51:4). David had not just sinned against God. He had sinned against Bathsheba and her husband. But David knew the worst thing that he had done was hurt God. When he hurts God, a man after God’s heart will experience great brokenness.
There’s one final characteristic worth noting about David’s heart. He had a thankful heart. You can’t read David’s psalms without seeing that thankfulness naturally flowed supernaturally from his heart. He knew that all good things came from God because he realized the one great attribute of God’s heart is goodness. Out of that knowledge, David continually wrote, “I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders” (Psalm 9:1 nau). Those who long after the heart of God will spend a lot of time giving thanks and praise to the God they have come to know.