"'Now when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, ..." (Acts 13:36, NIV).
David prayed this in Psalm 40:8 and this made him "a man after God's own heart"---being passionate for God's will despite his failures, mistakes, shortcomings, blunders, and sins. (Luke 7:47 says, "He that is forgiven much, loveth much.") You can do all God's will, as David did, and yet fall short because of sin--they are mutually exclusive. In other words, if it is Will A to do God's will and you do A plus B, you have still done A or God's will, though you added a work of the flesh or a sin to it. You can do God's will or what is right but not with a pure heart or wholeheartedly, as Amaziah did (cf. 2 Chron. 25:2). It nowhere in Scripture says David never did anything that wasn't God's will--just that he did all God's will for him. And when he had "served the purpose of God" (cf. Acts 13:36), David expired, breathed his last, and went to be with his fathers.
David had a real heart to build a temple for the Lord, yet God wouldn't let him due to blood on his hands, but the heart was there! We find out that the heart of the matter is that it's a matter of the heart! David found out that the "pleasure of sin" (cf. Heb. 11:25) was but "for a season," but there are lasting joy and fulfillment in serving God. David was a man of prayer and a man of God, despite his male ego or drive, and the fact that he recovered--nothing kept him down--was proof of what his priorities were, and that he was able to put his instincts and hormones into perspective and see God's service in the greater light.
Even Jesus had to pray that God's will would be done, as he prayed His prayer of relinquishment in the Garden of Gethsemane: "... [Nevertheless], not my will, but thine be done!" (Luke 22:42, KJV). This was the motto of Jesus' life: "Thy will be done!" We can do no worse than to follow suit and to dedicate ourselves to God's will, otherwise God may say to our chagrin, "Okay, have it your way!" A word to the wise: saying "Thy will be done" at the end of a prayer is no cop-out, but a humble admission of submission that God's glory is your intention, not to satisfy your own lusts or will.
God's best for us is His will (cf. Jer. 29:11), and we must learn to put our faith in His plan for our lives--He has no Plan B, as it were. And so we must get with the program. There is no greater joy than being involved in the Lord's work, and we find our life fulfillment in doing His will. King David knew the joy of the Lord in following His will and was accustomed to seeking God's presence everywhere he went and to wait on the Lord for His blessings. David was indeed a man after God's own heart, which meant he was in love with the Lord, you could say, and the surprising thing is that he loved God despite all his sins and distractions from having seven wives and several concubines!
Soli Deo Gloria!
David prayed this in Psalm 40:8 and this made him "a man after God's own heart"---being passionate for God's will despite his failures, mistakes, shortcomings, blunders, and sins. (Luke 7:47 says, "He that is forgiven much, loveth much.") You can do all God's will, as David did, and yet fall short because of sin--they are mutually exclusive. In other words, if it is Will A to do God's will and you do A plus B, you have still done A or God's will, though you added a work of the flesh or a sin to it. You can do God's will or what is right but not with a pure heart or wholeheartedly, as Amaziah did (cf. 2 Chron. 25:2). It nowhere in Scripture says David never did anything that wasn't God's will--just that he did all God's will for him. And when he had "served the purpose of God" (cf. Acts 13:36), David expired, breathed his last, and went to be with his fathers.
David had a real heart to build a temple for the Lord, yet God wouldn't let him due to blood on his hands, but the heart was there! We find out that the heart of the matter is that it's a matter of the heart! David found out that the "pleasure of sin" (cf. Heb. 11:25) was but "for a season," but there are lasting joy and fulfillment in serving God. David was a man of prayer and a man of God, despite his male ego or drive, and the fact that he recovered--nothing kept him down--was proof of what his priorities were, and that he was able to put his instincts and hormones into perspective and see God's service in the greater light.
Even Jesus had to pray that God's will would be done, as he prayed His prayer of relinquishment in the Garden of Gethsemane: "... [Nevertheless], not my will, but thine be done!" (Luke 22:42, KJV). This was the motto of Jesus' life: "Thy will be done!" We can do no worse than to follow suit and to dedicate ourselves to God's will, otherwise God may say to our chagrin, "Okay, have it your way!" A word to the wise: saying "Thy will be done" at the end of a prayer is no cop-out, but a humble admission of submission that God's glory is your intention, not to satisfy your own lusts or will.
God's best for us is His will (cf. Jer. 29:11), and we must learn to put our faith in His plan for our lives--He has no Plan B, as it were. And so we must get with the program. There is no greater joy than being involved in the Lord's work, and we find our life fulfillment in doing His will. King David knew the joy of the Lord in following His will and was accustomed to seeking God's presence everywhere he went and to wait on the Lord for His blessings. David was indeed a man after God's own heart, which meant he was in love with the Lord, you could say, and the surprising thing is that he loved God despite all his sins and distractions from having seven wives and several concubines!
Soli Deo Gloria!