Synchronized Heartbeats

          "He's a man whose heart beats to my heart; he will do everything I want him to do."
                                                                Acts 13:22




Even outside the Labor and Delivery room, you could distinctly hear the differences in the two heartbeats. Twin "A" sounded like a bounding, rapid gallop, while twin "B" was slightly quieter at a much slower pace. It was ironic to me that even identical twins would never be identical in regards to their cardiac function- the very beats that gave them life.

Synchronicity in their heartrates still does not occur even after the twins are born. Each heartbeat is separate and unique; it is solely their own. No matter how many similarities, likenesses, or commonalities they share, they will never share a synchronized heartbeat. That is reserved for our relationship with God.

The man in the Bible who gets the lofty praise of such synchronicity is David. He is referred to as "a man after God's own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). At first glance it may appear that David  lived a perfect life and made no mistakes. However, this could not be further from the truth. His sin repertoire includes: lying, parenting mistakes, murder, and adultery, to name a few.

Yet, why would God commend David for his heart? What characteristics of his life stood above the rest? What caused his heart to beat the way that it did? What made David's heart beat the way that it did? How in the world did it beat in synchronicity with the Creator of the universe?

Immediately, this pulls my mind to the wonders of the human heart. This single muscle, that weighs no more than a pound, reliably beats more than 2.5 billion times in the average lifespan. It pumps over two thousand gallons of blood per day. It perfuses all the cells of the body with oxygen, as it simultaneously draws out the waste. It begins beating four weeks after conception and doesn't stop until we go home to be with the Lord. It is an amazing organ!

Similarly, when I think about David's heart, I think in terms of its: position, persistence, perfusion, and power. The intimacy of his relationship with God was of the utmost of importance as he longed to be as close to God as he possibly could. He desired what God desired and he did what God asked him to do. Even when life was challenging. Even when God's desires defied human logic.

The position of David's heart was bowed down. He was both humble and reverent. He rightly ascribed God's position, as well as the position of man. He said, "Lowborn men are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie; if weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath" (Psalm 62:9).

He understood that when we are in right position with God that we are protected. Throughout many precarious situations, God delivered him again and again. He said, "The Lord will protect [me] and keep [me] alive; [I] will be called blessed in the land; and You shall not deliver [me] to the will of [my] enemies" (Psalm 41:2).

Despite the many people and circumstances that tried to take David out, he was persistent in his walk with God. There were times and seasons when he felt like he had lost everything- that is, everything except God. David used these opportunities to grow closer to the Lord.

Oswald Chambers says, "If God allows you to be stripped of the exterior portions of your life, He means for you to cultivate the interior."

And that is what David did. His faith both pleased God and was rewarded by Him. David was grateful in the times of peace and prosperity and he was grateful in the times of fear and despair. He never forgot to thank God for all he had- that was one of his finest characteristics.

David's life was perfused with adoration, devotion, and love for God. He delighted in His commands and he adored God's Word. Again  and again, he states that he meditates on them both day and night. David chose a heartbeat that was steady and strong.

He recognized the blessing of obeying God's precepts and walking in communion with Him. He shouts out his love for God and admits his life would be meaningless without Him. He states, "Blessed are they who keep His statutes and seek Him with all their heart. They do nothing wrong; they walk in His ways" (Psalm 119:2-3).

All of these characteristics enabled David to live in the power of God Almighty. He trusted God with all his heart no matter how difficult his circumstances were. He said, "The Lord is my light and my salvation- whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1).

He was faithful, obedient, and repentant. His heart broke when he hurt God's heart. He cried out to God and said, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!" (Psalm 51:1-2).

David accomplished God's will in his life. He did not allow distractions, deterrents, or despots to get him off track. When God told David to do something, he did it without hesitating. He did it with love and passion.

David's heart beat for God and in synchronicity with God. It was the driving force of  his life. The God-shaped vacuum in his heart was gigantic and he was always mindful of God's presence in his life. Because of this, he knew what things to add to his life and what things to delete. He knew God's will and purposed in his heart to accomplish it. David understood that the most important thing in this world was to have a synchronized heartbeat that beats in rhythm and melody with the Lord!


               "We cannot always trace God's hand, but we can always trust God's heart."
                                                           Charles Spurgeon