Having a heart for God can look crazy

Think about it.  David danced wildly for the Lord in broad daylight, in public.  He was crazy about God.  His devotion for God was off the charts.  We know this not just through His glorious, raw, real, and even vindictive Psalms, but because God Himself tells us so.  David was a man after God's own heart.

David wanted God.

Another example of David's antics - he actually pretended to be insane!  

"'So he [David] pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard.  Achish said to his servants, “Look at the man! He is insane!'"  I Samuel 21:13-14

David was afraid for his life because King Achish was out to get him.  People do crazy things when they think their life is at stake.

Some of David's Psalms are a bit mad, too.  Boy, did he want his enemies pulverized!  And he minced no words in letting God know how he felt and how he wanted God to handle his enemies! This, too, is madness.

Makes me wonder how David would be treated in our churches today were he to walk in and share his "testimony."  Perhaps not with the thunderous applause we give his Psalms, and his defeat of Goliath.

No.  The real David would no doubt offend some.

"He committed adultery!"  "He was a murderer!" (he had Uriah killed to assuage his own guilt over sleeping with Uriah's wife)  "He dances around like one of those holy rollers!"

David was a mess in some regards.  But he was God's mess.  

David loved the Lord.  David was crazy for God! God knew David's heart.  And God is always about the heart.

And despite David's very grievous sins against the God he loved and worshiped, David always came back to God.  He repented. He prayed for healing and restoration.

Now that's a man after God's heart.  That's what it is all about really, isn't it?  We goof up. Royally.  But we know where to turn.  We know where to run.  We know where our only hope lies.  We return to Jesus.

David was on fire for God.  He was not cold, nor was he lukewarm.  He was passionate in his love for God and he knew how to express it.

So praise God for David.  I don't know where I'd be without his Psalms.  

Though the first thing someone might remember about David is his Bathsheba incident, the first thing God remembers is David's heart.

Oh yeah.  One tiny detail I don't want you to miss.  Our Lord and Savior, the Messiah, came from the line of David.  Yep.  So never disparage those whom God chooses to use for His glory and purposes.   

And next time you are tempted to judge others, don't.  Only God knows the heart of each person.

Oh Lord.  Your ways are beyond our comprehension.  You anointed David as King of Israel and Your hand was strong on him.  You chose David for his heart.  His crazy, wild heart.  His heart was strong after You, Jesus. Oh please continue to purify my heart as You live in it more and more, sweet Jesus.  And help me to never judge others.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.