Sisters, it is easy to look at David, and wonder, why him? While David held many big accomplishments in the name of God, he also fell short in big ways. Why did God choose someone who made what seem like such monumental mishaps to be called, “A man after His own heart”? You may have even read through some of David’s more difficult moments and thought to yourself, “I hope this isn’t God’s heart…”
Here is the beauty seen by God and displayed in even David’s lowest of lows…David’s change of heart and his change of actions. We are all broken people - living in a broken world. God is not looking for perfect. (Thankfully, Jesus came to take care of that for us!)
David’s sorrow in his mistakes and his dependence on God in his triumphs were two key characteristics that God longs for in His people. That’s the beauty in the story of David and many others God uses for His glory in the Bible (and even today). He will use people, even women just like you and me, to do great works for His kingdom. He loves a good redemption story. He knows we will fall short, He knows we will make mistakes, but what He longs for more than perfection are humility and faithful followers.
If we can:
Humble ourselves - We can’t be both prideful and humble. Here, we have to openly and honestly share with God all of our cracks...all of our broken spaces. We need His grace and mercy to come and fill us up and make us whole (change our hearts).
Hold tight to Him - Confessing our sins is part of repentance, but we also need to truly let it go, let God take the wheel, and lean into His plan and His purpose (change our actions).
When we put the two of these things together, we can truly and deeply repent to our Father and lay it at His feet. We can embrace a heart like His. As you may have noticed, David had to do this again and again. It is a continuous cycle, not a one-time act. When we can understand and practice true repentance, we can get through anything.
Change of Heart + Change of Actions = Repentance
Repentance is not just lip service. It isn’t a thoughtless “I’m sorry.” It’s true sorrow. True intentions to do better and seek Him. It’s a change of heart+change of actions.
It’s an ever-growing process of leaning deeper into the arms of God with our whole self in complete surrender. This may sound a bit scary and feel very vulnerable... and in some ways it is. But friends, there is so much joy, so much freedom, in living in this space of repenting. Repentance is not a punishment, it is a gift from our good, good Father.
David showed us that even in our deepest regrets, God sees our heart, God sees us leaning into Him, and oh, how very much that matters to Him.
Follow our Contributing Writer - Hannah Dearth
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