A Heart Like His - Review

A Heart Like His

By Beth Moore

Intimate Reflections on the Life of David

A Heart Like His takes a look at the life of David, which takes us on a study through several books of the Bible.  By studying David's life we can discover how we too can be known as a person after God's heart.  

David is first mentioned in I Samuel 16 when Samuel is sent to anoint the replacement for Israel's fallen king. At the time of his anointing David was just a shepherd.  David was not the first choice of man or even his own family.  But unlike humanity who judges on outward appearance and show, God looks into our heart, soul, and mind.   

David's background as a shepherd prepared him for his future role as ruler.  But God wasn't ready for David to assume the throne yet.  David had to wait on God's timing.  At his anointing the Spirit of God came upon David.  

Saul is an important part of David's story.  Where David was God's choice for king, Saul was the people's choice when the nation rejected God as their King.  The people enslaved themselves to an earthly king simply because their neighbors had kings.  Because the people rejected God the wrong man was made king. Instead of someone who would willing humble himself before God, they chose someone who was self-centered and desired the approval of man instead of God. Because he would not fear God Saul feared public opinion, the enemy, and even those to whom he was the closest to.

Often God allows us to be brought low so that we will call out to Him and He can raise us up to solid ground.  We must follow David's example and cry aloud to God when we are in trouble, this will maintain our health - emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.  Tell God your troubles and your hurts; pour your heart out to God make Him your closest friend and confidant.  We, like David, should long for God's presence.  Only God can help us to overcome the obstacles in our life.  

But David was not perfect.  He was a fallen sinful human who made mistakes, but he learned from his mistakes and came to a better understanding and respect of God.  But by disobeying God's command to not take many wives David proved Deuteronomy true because his heart was indeed lead astray from God.  He began to shirk his duties as king.  Then he sought his own self-gratification by committing adultery with Bathsheba - the wife of one of his soldiers who was away at war as David should have been.  This sin was the culmination of  several wrongs committed by David.  

But we can learn from David's mistakes and avoid the trap he allowed himself to fall into.  We need to fulfill the responsibilities God has given us.  We need to set up a network of accountability partners and avoid extended periods of isolation.  We also need to be aware of the progressive nature of sin and be prepared to stop it in its infancy so that it cannot develop roots in your heart.

Instead of falling into sin and being a willing participant we should follow Joseph's example - flee from the temptation to be wicked and to sin against God!  When our heart is divided our life is in danger.  We are susceptible to the temptations of sin.  God wants us to trust Him and to give Him our whole heart so that He can keep us safe.  

Whatever we treasure and desire is the proof of the state of our heart.  If we desire to be like David we need to devote our hearts and souls to seek after God.  David was a man after God's heart not because he was perfect but because he loved God.

A Heart Like His is an in-depth study into a life that seeks out God.  Though David is the main focus, his is not the only life that is used to teach us how we are to live.  I highly recommend this title for those who want a closer relationship with God.  A Heart Like His is perfect for personal or group study, with review questions in the back of the book for each chapter.

I received a copy of this title for review purposes through Shelton Interactive.