A Heart Like His...

an Intimate Reflection on the Life of David by Beth Moore


Wow... this is an amazing book! I'll be honest in saying that for the longest time I was not a big 'Beth Moore' fan. It really had nothing to do with her or her books but rather a situation that I dealt with a few years back that I didn't agree with that involved the use of her books. I'll admit it was immature on my end and now I'm way behind on the books she has published but at least I've been given (and have taken) the opportunity to be blessed by her ministry. Actually, a few years ago I got one of her books for Christmas but never really got into it. I think mainly because I was involved in quite a few Bible studies that it was difficult for me to really dig in one more. But anyway....

My in-laws gave this book to me for Christmas and I have been forcing myself to put it down each day after one chapter. I thought I understood the story of David... and well I did know the basics but this book has taken my level of understanding to a whole new level. She has a way of not just pointing out but helping you discover the details that make David's story so amazing!

I've learned so many things about God and how blessed we truly are that Jesus died on the cross for us and how that has changed our relationship with God. I've learned quite a bit about David's 'backstory' (as Beth calls it) and how God worked way before David to allow David to become who he was. It's so amazing to see all the details that went into David becoming... 'A Man after His Own Heart' and knowing that God planned for all of that to happen. I was amazed at how Hannah gave up her first born (and how difficult that is to digest now that I have my own child), and how God extended grace to Eli to father again (and how encouraging that is) and to realize how old David actually was when he was first annointed... wow and then to know how unperfect David was yet God called him a 'man after his own heart.' Crazy.... and I'm not that far into the book. I can't wait until I have a total overview of the who David really was and how God worked in his story.

Her writing has given me a new appreciation for the Bible because she helped to unlock a door of mystery. Like I said before, I knew I was missing so much and not able to put all the details together and she has helped me to do that. She's helped me to make the story personal and she's helped me to read God's word in a story form. Everyone has always told me to look at the Bible as a story book with just lots of chapters but it's never been 'that easy' to do... I always got stumped by the geneologies, books that repeat stories, or stories that are a bit out of order time wise. So while I enjoyed reading... it never seemed to flow like a book to me.

This book (with it's detailedness... is that a word? LOL) has made me understand and yet still question (which I think is a good thing because it leads me to further discovery) God and my relationship with him and I'm stocked about what I'll discover in the next 2 months (yeah it has a lot of chapters! lol).

So thanks Mom and Dad for an AWESOME (that was for you Mike) Christmas gift!


VOTD:
“wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.” - Isaiah 1:16-17