Those who are serious about following Jesus should have a desire to have a heart for the Lord and to serve God’s purpose with their lives. We find in the Bible a good example of this in King David. Acts 13 reveals to us that David had a heart and a purpose that we could learn from.

When King Saul failed to carry out the will of the Lord, God removed him from his position and made David king. God describes David with these words: “I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.” (Acts 13:22).

It is not just kings and other leaders who need to have a heart for the Lord. God expects this from every one of us. He is looking for people who will worship him in the Spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24).

So how does one exhibit a heart for the Lord? The answer is found in the last part of the above verse, Acts 13:22— “…he will do everything I want him to do.” The way to have a heart for God is to obey him. We can’t be serious about the Lord without obedience. Jesus says, “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (John 13:17). He also says, “If you love me, keep my commands.” (John 14:15). Anyone who wants to have a heart for the Lord will live a lifestyle of obedience.

You might be thinking, “Well, David didn’t always obey God. What about his adultery with Bathsheba and his plan to cover it up, ultimately resulting in the murder of her husband, Uriah? That doesn’t look like obedience to me!

It is true that David sinned greatly on that occasion. However, he repented afterwards and spent most of his life doing what God said to do. This goes to show that God can use people who make terrible mistakes if they will repent and turn back to him. Having a heart for God doesn’t mean that you have been perfect. It means that your life is primarily focused on obeying what God says to do.

So, we see that David had a heart for the Lord. Now let’s consider his purpose. Acts 13:36 says that “…David had served God’s purpose in his own generation…” God’s purpose in David’ life included the roles of shepherd, singer-song writer, warrior and king. Notice that is says he had served God’s purpose, not his own. Sometimes we have our own agenda for our lives, and we try to fool ourselves into thinking that’s what God wants us to do. We to be careful that we don’t confuse our plans and God’s plans. They are not always one and the same! It may require a radical change in thinking in order to understand God’s purpose for our lives. Rom.12:2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Having a heart for God and living out his purpose go together hand-in-hand. We need to be constantly examining our lives to see if we are indeed obeying God and living out his purpose in our own generation. We should always be ready to make any necessary corrections along the way to keep ourselves aligned with God’s purpose.