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May 16, 2023 06:00am

The Heart of the Matter

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(The following is a family devotional guide with suggested questions and scriptures.)

Talk Time

What are some boring tasks you do on a daily basis?
Have you ever felt overlooked?
How does it feel to be the oldest/middle/youngest child?
Have you ever had a life-changing moment? Or, a moment that changed you in some way?

Bible Connection

Throughout our lives, it is said that we get 3 once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. These are opportunities in which our decisions impact the direction we are headed in. And then there’s those times in life in which God intervenes in such a way He changes the direction we are headed in. David had such an experience. Long before he was King David, he was David, the youngest son out of eight. He was David, the shepherd. He was David, the one who often got overlooked. While David was tending sheep for his father, he had no idea that God had decided that King Saul’s time was limited as King of Israel. You see, King Saul had shown a heart of disobedience to God and His commands. So, God told Samuel, the priest, that he had picked another person to be the future king. This upset Samuel so much because he had anointed Saul – it grieved him that Saul chose not to follow the Lord with all his heart. But, God told Samuel to stop grieving and to anoint someone else. Though Samuel had no idea who this person was, he obeyed God and set out to a town God told him to go to – a little town called Bethlehem. David had no idea his life was about to change!

Read 1 Samuel 16:1-13. Listen for how God picked young David to be the next king of Israel.

Just imagine if you were David: you are out shepherding your dad’s sheep, and you get a message to come to the house, that a priest is there. This sounds intimidating! In those days, when a priest showed up unannounced, it usually meant there was trouble or that he had a foreboding message to deliver. When David arrived, he saw all of his family there. Then, Samuel came to him, poured oil on his head, anointing him king of Israel.

David had to be shocked! He went from shepherd to future king. Not only that, he was anointed king in front of all seven of his brothers. David’s older brothers looked like they could be the future king, yet God rejected them. Even though David was just a teenager at this point, God saw he had a heart after God. After he was anointed king, God’s spirit came upon David, and David walked away with a calling by God. Though the direction of his life was changed, it didn’t change his job title for a long time. It wasn’t his time to take over as king yet, so he went back to being a shepherd.

Faith Connection

God chose David because He saw David’s heart – a heart that would follow God. A heart that loved God. A heart that would obey God. A heart that feared God.

What does God see when He looks at your heart?

God is always searching for those who have willing hearts. Sometimes, it’s a decision we make to follow Him, one that can change our lives. Sometimes, He intervenes in our lives in such a way, it forever changes us. Either way, following God – even when it’s hard, even when it hurts, and even when it doesn’t make sense – is the best decision we will ever make. It’s when we experience Him!