Destiny Empowerment Daily Devotional *(15th November 2023)*

by Sunday Akanni

TOPIC: Chasing The Heart Of God (Part 1)

And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’ Acts 13:22

*Message*

David is always a role model, and he is one of the most important personalities we see in the Bible. Here is a common shepherd who rose to become Israel's greatest king; he became a Patriarch who is worthy of emulation even today.

We see God repeatedly referring to David as a man after His own Heart. This is profound since it came from the mouth of the LORD Himself directly. The fact that he could achieve such a feat in spite of the limitations of his dispensation is something that should make this ancient Jewish king a good man to study even in our contemporary dispensation as Christians. Hence, if we give good attention to some of the things he did that earned him that honorable divine title, Christians today can learn a thing or two.

Check through the pages of the scriptures, and it will become glaring that David properly positioned himself to win God's heart by his faithful commitment to keeping God's commandments. "...and yet you have not been as My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do only what was right in My eyes." (I Kings 14:. David was a dogged lover of God's law and he made God's law his close companion.

When the children of Israel were yet to enter the promised land, even many years before David was born, God knew His people would demand a king someday, and He gave them certain principles for kingship (Deuteronomy 17:14-20). Amongst other things, the LORD instructed:

*“When he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel."*

Whilst a man like Saul and several other Jewish kings didn't take this seriously, King David carefully adhered, and it contributed greatly to his success as a king, as well as his relationship with God.

*As Christians today, we need to know the importance of heeding God's word and doing His Will in our day-to-day living. While God loves everyone in Christ Jesus, those who are committed to obeying His commandments passionately at all times have a unique spot in His heart. And following King David's footsteps, you need to be a lover of God's word (both the written Word and the spoken Word).*

Give great priority to studying the bible regularly. Always ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand and live by it, and you are on your way to having a unique spot in God's heart like David.

*Prayer*
Today, ask the LORD for a deeper craving for His word.

*Further Reading*
And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” I Samuel 13:13‭-‬14

Please, Share with your groups and contacts📌📌

*N.B: TO GET THIS DIRECTLY ON WHATSAPP, KINDLY SEND "DESTINY EMPOWERMENT" TO EITHER 2348185021024 OR SUNDAYAKANNIOFFICIAL@GMAIL.COM*