May 3, 2010
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AFTER GOD'S HEART
Where is your heart?

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:13

Recently, I was thinking back on some of my fishing and hunting adventures with good friends.  One surreal adventure came to mind.  It involved one of the exploits of my long-time friend Jeff Klippenes.   Born and raised in the backwoods of Northern Minnesota, he has a wealth of outdoor experience that adds to the excitement of every outing. 

One of my favorite memories with Jeff had to do with him purchasing one of my consignment bass boats.  After experiencing the thrill of fishing out of a bass boat, Jeff asked if he could purchase it when my new boat arrived.  I was excited to know that this beautiful boat would have a home in his garage

Shortly after he took delivery, Jeff planned an outing with a client he was counseling.  I had no idea that the Viking bloodline in Jeff’s heritage would come out the way it did.  To a Scandinavian - there is no water that can’t be conquered.   

Jeff decided to take his low profile bass boat out in the San Francisco Bay for a sturgeon fishing trip.  In the late afternoon, unexpected gale winds came up and swamped the boat.  I received a call about 4:00 PM.  “Hey Jim, this is Jeff ….ah you probably can’t guess what happened to our boat today.  It seems that it really doesn’t handle very well in fierce winds and heavy seas!”  I inquired as to Jeff’s condition and the state of the boat.  With humor in his voice he continued, “Everything is all right, accept the boat is full of water and tied up to a dock in a restricted area of the Naval Weapons Station in Antioch, California.” 

I could tell by Jeff’s attitude that he was shaken but unwilling to let the circumstances of his adventure detour his love of fishing and God.  Despite his financial loss and personal embarrassment, Jeff was excited to praise the Lord; “God was really good to us Jim.  He watched over us and got me safely back home”. 

That evening I met Jeff down at the marina.  We bailed out his submerged rig and towed it back to his trailer.  Throughout the evening Jeff’s attitude was positive and encouraging.  His heart was right before God as he honored the relationship he had with his Heavenly Father.

There was another man whose deep love of God and willing heart enabled him to be positive in almost every situation.  When we think about King David, different images come to mind. Some remember David as a shepherd boy, found by a king and dedicated for service. Others will remember David as a giant-killing warrior who bravely saved a nation from ruin. Some remember David as a man who slept with another man’s wife and then covered his sin with a murderous act. Many think of David as a great poet, composer, or musician.

According to the Bible, God remembers David most as Israel’s greatest king, the one whose name would be forever linked with the Messiah, the “Son of David” (Matthew 1:1).  In Acts 13:22, Paul identifies God’s testimony regarding David as “I have found David, Son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything that I want him to do….. I have found David a man who cared about the things I cared about. He was a man’s heartbeat in sink with mine. When I looked to the right, David looked to the right. When I looked to the left, David looked to the left.”

David was chosen of God because he was a person of integrity and character. God could see humility and might within the framework of this obscure peasant boy. It was this character and poise that allowed David to volunteer to fight Goliath and conquer several nations.

As David considered all of his accomplishments and his relationship with God, he provided his son Solomon this final advice as found in Chapters 28 and 29 of 1 Chronicles, “Acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts . . . . If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.”

Are you seeking God today? Is your heartbeat in sync with God’s? If you are like me, the busyness of your schedule often dictates the amount of time we have to contemplate such profound truth. Our faith will grow deeper as a direct result of the time and effort we can place on cultivating our relationship with the living God.

You see Jeff was full of God’s anointing and reacted to his circumstances the same way King David did.  Let’s remember to keep our hearts pure even when our boat is sinking.

 The Power of Truth:

• “But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD's command."- 1 Samuel 13:14
• “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” – Matthew 6:33

Suggestion for Prayer: