After graduating high school, I moved to the city to attend university. My roommate and I started attending a local church and its young adults group. Growing up, I often felt the absence of a mentor—someone who could teach and model what it meant to live a Christian life. Looking back, I see how young adulthood is a pivotal time for exploring and owning our faith, turning it from something inherited into something deeply personal.
Just across the parking lot from our apartment was a small Christian bookstore, nestled between a Domino’s Pizza and a laundromat. One afternoon, likely avoiding the readings I was supposed to be doing, I wandered inside, drawn by my love of books and a growing curiosity about my faith. As I browsed the shelves, a title caught my eye: A Woman After God’s Own Heart by Elizabeth George. Just reading the title stirred something in me. If anything captured the longing in my heart at that time, it was this.
I haven’t revisited the book since, but I still remember how her words validated and inspired my journey with God. Through her practical advice on growing in relationship and knowledge of Him, I found encouragement to walk in discipline and faithfulness. For someone with a naturally serious and intense personality, this guidance was instrumental during that formative season of my spiritual growth.
That season planted a desire in me to better understand what it means to be a person after God’s own heart—a phrase we see in Scripture, most notably used to describe King David. But what does that actually look like in practice? As we turn to the Word of God, we find both examples and lessons that illuminate the posture of a heart aligned with His.
When Hearts Turn Away: Lessons from Saul and Asa
In Scripture, King David is famously described as a man after God’s own heart. This distinction is first mentioned in the context of King Saul’s failure in 1 Samuel 13. The chapter recounts Jonathan’s victory over the Philistines, which provoked their vengeance and led them to gather an even larger army to retaliate. In response, King Saul assembled his troops at Gilgal, waiting for Samuel as promised. But as fear spread among the Israelites, many fled to hide, while even Saul’s army began to desert him.
Desperate and relying only on himself, Saul took matters into his own hands. Instead of waiting for Samuel to offer the sacrifice, as instructed, he performed it himself.
When Samuel arrived and saw Saul’s disobedience—and his lack of repentance—he declared that Saul’s kingdom would come to an end. Samuel told him, “The Lord has sought out a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you” (1 Samuel 13:14).
Saul’s self-sufficiency and unrepentance are clear markers of a heart turned away from God. A similar pattern emerges in 2 Chronicles 16:9, where Hanani the seer confronts King Asa. Rather than relying on the Lord, Asa placed his trust in the strength of Syria’s army. Hanani rebuked him, saying, “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward Him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.” Instead of repenting, Asa responded with fury, imprisoning the prophet and mistreating his people.
Saul and Asa’s stories remind us of the dangers of self-reliance, pride, and unrepentance—qualities that turn a heart away from God. But what does it look like to cultivate a heart after God’s own? Scripture offers a stark contrast through the life of David, who, despite his failures, demonstrated humility, repentance, and unwavering trust in the Lord. These are the ones God is seeking.
Cultivating a Heart Aligned with God
Now, we know that David wasn’t a perfect, sinless man. His life is marked by mistakes and poor choices, yet what sets him apart is his response to those moments. Through his writings in the Psalms, we see a man who continually sought the Lord, drawing near to Him rather than turning away—whether in pain, sin, suffering, or opposition. David consistently postured himself in humility before God.
R.C. Sproul captures this beautifully: “In the Psalms, we see the heart of a penitent unveiled, and in that, I think we see most clearly the greatness of David the Great. If you read Psalm 51 and read it carefully and thoughtfully, that Psalm will reveal more than anything else in the history of David why David was called a man after God’s own heart. Because here it reveals the broken heart of a sinful man who sees his sin clearly.”
Sometimes, we hesitate to confront our own sin. The shame of our imperfections tempts us to hide, as if shoving our sin into a closet like dirty laundry will make the room look clean. But deep down, we know it’s still there—we’re just hiding it. In doing so, we miss the grace of God in our lives! Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for this very attitude, describing them as those who clean the outside of the cup while leaving the inside filthy, or as whitewashed tombs—outwardly beautiful, but full of death and decay within.
Because of the person and work of Christ, we don’t have to hide. We’re invited to approach the throne of grace with confidence, “that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). This includes the courage to recognize, confess, and repent of our sin and in doing so, we acknowledge Him as sovereign, as King, as the Almighty who sent Christ to redeem us and the Spirit to remind us of the truth day by day, as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling.
Godly sorrow for our sin is an important piece of repentance, and when our guilt moves us toward confession and repentance in the presence of the Lord, we’re met with restoration and forgiveness in Christ. In His grace, what begins as sorrow ends in joy, as we draw closer to the heart of God.
Chasing After God’s Heart Through Obedience
Finally, in Acts 13, Paul addresses a Jewish audience in Antioch Pisidia, recounting the history of Israel and God’s faithfulness from Abraham to Christ. During his message, he highlights David as a man after God’s own heart, “who will do all my will” (Acts 13:22). This echoes Samuel’s earlier words to Saul, reminding us that a person after
God’s heart seeks to obey His instructions and pursue righteousness.
My son loves sports, particularly the NBA and NFL. He can tell you endless details about players, stats, and strategies simply from watching games and listening to commentators. He immerses himself in what he loves. In the same way, as believers, we deepen our knowledge and joy in Christ by pursuing Him wholeheartedly through prayer and His Word. Jesus said, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:10-11).
Becoming a person after God’s heart is a lifelong journey. It involves learning, growing, and becoming increasingly Christlike until His kingdom comes and all things are made new. Along the way, we’ll face struggles, failures, and moments of weakness. Yet, God’s grace has no limits. With a humble and repentant heart, we can find forgiveness and the courage to keep pressing forward, chasing after the One who first pursued us.
May God give us the grace to keep our hearts bent toward him.
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