A Heart Like His

A Heart Like His

Introduction:

In 1973, the world met a horse named Secretariat – a big, red colt with fire in his stride and thunder in his hooves. He didn’t just win races…. He rewrote history.

At the Kentucky Derby, he started in last place… but, with every quarter mile, he got faster. He ended the race with almost 2 minutes to spare finishing so fast that his record still stands…

At another race, the Preakness, Secretariat took the lead on the first turn, breaking away and leaving the pack behind. History was made again.

But, in horse racing, it is at Belmont that legends are made. At the Belmont Stakes (horse race) Secretariat didn’t just win—he dominated.

He won the Belmont Stakes by an astounding 31 lengths. No one had ever seen a race like that before. His finishing time was 2:24, the fastest 1.5 mile ever run.

It was the kind of finish that made people cry. It was majestic.

Only 13 horses in history have won the Triple Crown. Eight before Secratariat and four after him. But only one horse holds the record for all three of the triple crown races, Secratariat.

After his death, veterinarians discovered the secret to Secretariat’s success. Secretariat's heart was twice the size of a normal horse's heart. There was something in him beyond the surface of his appearance that no one could see, that was no accident... It was built within him. He was born to run and built to win.

His greatness wasn’t just in his speed—it was in his capacity. The secret was his heart.

Likewise, in God's eyes, the greatness of a person isn't in their stature, skill, or success—it's in their heart.

In 1 Samuel 13:14, the LORD, speaking through the prophet Samuel says, “The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart…”

The Psalmist answers in Psalm 89:20-21, “I have found My servant David; With My holy oil I have anointed him, With whom My hand shall be established; Also My arm shall strengthen him…”

In Acts, Luke records, “God once said of David: 'I have found David son of Jesse to be a man after my own heart, who will carry out all my will” (Acts 13:22, CSB).

When the LORD sent Samuel to anoint David to be king, Samuel saw the tallness of David’s brothers, their kingly physical stature looked like immediate indicators that surely the LORD’s anointed was standing there in front of the prophet, but again the LORD says, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7).

The person mentioned by name most often in Scripture is David. He holds the record of about 1141 mentions. More than anyone else. God is fixated on this man. And what we read in these texts is that what God looked at MOST in David was his heart. God looked beyond the surface and saw a heart like His own, and this made him choose what seemed unlikely in the eyes of others. David had a heart after God, and so do you!

In the Bible, the heart is the center of a person’s life. This doesn’t refer to the blood-pumping organ of our modern understanding of anatomy and physiology. It refers to the inner core of a person, their soul, or spirit. The immaterial grounding of their being from which everything that they are flows. The writer of Proverbs warns us to guard our hearts, for out of them are the issues of life. Jesus said that it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. Like the physical heart carries oxygen and nutrient-filled blood to the extremities of our bodies, to the tips of our fingers and toes, the spiritual heart of man carries their life, good or bad, into their actions, words, and thoughts.

Someone has said that each of us has three selves;

A public self—the one we wear out on dates, and at job interviews. Our best self.

A private self—who we are at home. The person we are when we let our hair down or when we wake up in the morning.

A secret self—the person we are at our core. Some things no one knows about us but us, and some things not even we know about ourselves; only God knows.

It is the secret self that is at the core of our being, and in our moments of greatest stress and pressure or pleasure, where our inhibitions are at their lowest, what we really are comes out.

It is said of David that he guided Israel with the integrity of his heart! An integrated self is one in which all that we are comes together in oneness! When the heat was on and it really counted--David rose to the challenge! He had a heart like God's heart, and so do you!