Who Knows Our Hearts?
In 1Samuel 13:14, in response to King Saul’s disobedience to God, the prophet Samuel declared “…but now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee.” The man “after his own heart” would be King David. God is assessing David’s heart and declaring that it was a heart after him.
In Acts 13, as the message is recounted of the Apostle Paul speaking in the synagogue, he declared about King David, “And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave their testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.”
The prophet Samuel declared David’s heart was for God, and later the Apostle Paul reaffirmed the same. Yet, in 1Samuel 17:28, as David brought his brothers bread and cheese to the battlefield and asked about how things were going, his oldest brother stated, “Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, ‘Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.’”
If David were like many little brothers, he probably sought the affirmation of his older brother. He probably craved acceptance and encouragement by his older brother. Instead, Eliab made harsh statements about the motives and intentions of David’s heart. In fact, Eliab did not even criticize David’s actions. He stabbed at David’s heart.
How could Eliab possibly know the heart of his little brother David? How can that person who questioned you possibly know your heart? The answer is that they cannot. No one knows your heart truly but you and God.
God’s Word declares David’s heart was completely for God, even while his oldest brother called him wicked and conceited. As we see in God’s Word, David would ultimately listen to God rather than to the judgments of his older brother. So must you.
Your heart may honestly seek the Lord on something, though someone may judge your motives for your hard actions as wrong. When your heart is to honor God, but someone near you declares your heart wrong, prideful, selfish, or worse, who will you believe? Seek and know what God says about you and about your heart, and even if it contradicts with what someone else has judged about you, trust God.
Look up child of God! The Savior Himself knows your heart!