God said, “I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all my will.” (Acts 13:22 (NKJV))

 

The other day, I was reading an article about Stanley Jenkins. I’m pretty sure you’ve never heard of him. I hadn’t either. Stanley lived from 1884 to 1967. When he died, he left no wife or children. He’s not known as a man who did something incredibly noble. Instead, he’s credited as the inventor of the corn dog. [1]

That’s his legacy – corn dog inventor. A man who obtained a patent for a machine to skewer and deep fry hot dogs dipped in a corn meal mixture.

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy a good corn dog from time to time. But after you’re gone, is that all you want to be known for?

It got me thinking, we only have one life. When your time is up, what will people say about you? What will you be known for? Inventing a food dish? Or someone who loved God?

David was known as a man after God’s own heart. He was known as a man who would do God’s will. Wouldn’t that be a beautiful way to be remembered?

It sounds like a high standard. Maybe you’re thinking that’s something you could never live up to. Yet, David wasn’t perfect. He made many mistakes. He not only committed adultery but tried to cover it up by having the woman’s husband killed (2 Samuel 11:2-5, 14-17). It wasn’t perfection that gave David this legacy. It was his love for God and his faith in Him.

When David heard that Israel was being taunted by one of the Philistine giants named Goliath, (1 Samuel 17:4-11, 23), he asked, “[W]ho is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26 (NKJV)). David knew that Goliath was not just challenging men, but God Himself.

So, when Saul told David that he wouldn’t be able to fight Goliath because he was just a youth, David assured him that the Lord – who delivered him from the lion’s paw and the bear’s paw as he shepherded his father’s flock – would also deliver him from the hand of Goliath (1 Samuel 17:37). David trusted God.

Not only did David openly trust God before all the people, he also expressed his love for God. When the ark of God – the place where God would meet the high priest once a year – was brought up to Jerusalem, “David danced before the Lord with all his might,” leaping and whirling before Him (2 Samuel 6:14-16 (NKJV)).

David gives us a good example to follow. We should aim to be known as women who love God and trust Him.

In your life, are you known as a woman after God’s own heart who will do all His will? Do those around you even know that you’re a Christian? What evidence is there of your love for God?

I’m not suggesting that you do things to call attention to yourself and what you’re doing so people will notice you. Jesus warned us not to be like the Pharisees who loved to “pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men” (Matthew 6:5 (NKJV)).

But if you live your life loving God, being sensitive to His Spirit, and willing to step out in faith to do the things He asks you to do, people will know you love God. As you abide in Jesus by reading the Bible, talking to Him, and worshipping Him, it will be evident that you’ve spent time with Him.

And as you live a life of obedience, your life will bless others. Don’t be afraid to pray with someone He asks you to pray with. Be bold to share with others what God is doing in your life. Make yourself available to serve those around you.

As we do these things, we will become known as women after God’s own heart. So let’s commit our lives to Jesus as we walk by faith with Him.

 

Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash

[1] Kerry J. Byrne, “Meet the American who invented the ‘clean, wholesome’ corn dog,” Fox News, Jun. 10, 2022, https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/meet-american-invented-corn-dog.