Damien shoved his hands in his pockets and studied the square tiles on the floor. He knew he was in big trouble after this latest screw up. No way his dad would forgive him.

Over the past few years Damien had been in and out of school detention for various reasons. Today he faced expulsion for his latest crime—crashing the school’s computer system. His buddies had dared him. Not wanting to look like an idiot, Damien went along with it. He knew exactly how to do it and the beautiful Bailee flirted with him until he succumbed to the pressure.

How could he not try to impress her?

He plunked himself into the chair outside the principal’s office.

Where were his friends and Bailee now? They hightailed it out of the computer room once everything crashed, leaving him to pick up the pieces.

You’re such an idiot, Damien. One girl bats her eyelashes and you give in?

He punched his fist into his palm. How could he disappoint his dad again? After all the times he swore he’d get help.

I’m sorry, Dad.

Raised voices stirred Damien out of his thoughts. The door opened.

Damien stood and held his breath.

The principal glared at him. “You’re one lucky man to have a father who believes in you. Two weeks suspension and volunteer work after that. You got off lucky.” He stepped back inside his office and slammed the door.

“Dad, I’m so sorry. I know I’ve screwed up big time.”

“Yes, you did and there are consequences for your actions. After your two weeks are up, you’ll be cleaning the washrooms for the rest of the year. Every day.”

Damien hung his head. “I understand.”

“You’re fortunate I was able to reason with the principal.”

“I don’t deserve to be your son.”

His father placed a hand on Damien’s shoulder. “Son, don’t ever say that. I will love you no matter what you do.”

Have you ever felt like a total screw up? That someone close to you would never be able to forgive you for what you’ve done? I’m sure we’ve all been there.

After David’s colossal mistake, he probably thought God would never forgive him. He committed adultery plus murder. Yikes.

But, that wasn’t the case. Not only did God forgive David, but He called him a “man after my own heart.” Amazing!

I end my series on David here—the perfect spot. What can we learn from him?

David faced a giant and trusted God to give him victory. This is huge. Facing giants is not easy but with God’s help we can do anything. How about we trust God to remove those big hurdles in our lives? Will it be easy? Of course not, but He will give us victory!

David was a loyal friend. He didn’t let Jonathan down. Treasure your friends. They’re a gift from God.

David knew revenge wasn’t the answer. He walked away when he had the chance to stop Saul. We also need to leave revenge to God.

David extended kindness. He sought out someone in Jonathan’s family and gave them everything they needed. Random acts of kindness aren’t hard to do. How about we strive to do one a month?

David sinned. Don’t you wonder why he could walk away from revenge against Saul, but not from this temptation? I do. I think we’ve learned that David wasn’t perfect. He had weaknesses like all of us. How about we tell someone about ours so they can help us be accountable?

Even after all the mistakes David made God didn’t care. He loved him for who he was. He forgave him no matter what he did. He called him a man after His own heart.

Don’t you think God feels the same way about us? He does! He loves us all unconditionally so don’t worry if you screwed up yesterday, today or heaven forbid…again tomorrow. He loves us anyway.

Does this mean we can do anything we want because God will forgive us anyway? Of course not. We’re accountable for what we do and we’ll stand before Him one day to give account for our actions, but He will still put a hand on our shoulder and say, “I loved you no matter what you did.”

Aren’t you glad? I am.

What is your favourite David story and why? What did you learn from David in this series? Share in the comments section.

Acts 13:22 (NIV)
After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’

Listen to the words of this beautiful song. Fits so perfectly with this post.
Lloyd Bustard – Man After God’s Own Heart