A God after our own hearts

Perfection is not something that God ever expects us to attain here on Earth, yet how many of us expect that of ourselves? Maybe some of us grew up with a critical parent and we project those ideas onto God thinking that every time we fail, He is right there waiting to throw our failures back in our face. An honest reading of the Bible would show us that our God is always willing to forgive us for those failures as long as we are moving towards him in all that we do. When Jesus walked on Earth he made it very clear that the motives of the heart matter far more than actions themselves, but actions usually reveal what's in the heart. This doesn't mean that we get a free pass on what we do, but intentional sin is very different from stumbling along the way. Some of us have tons of baggage that we are still sorting through and it can take a long time to refine our behaviors so they are in line with His purposes. He knows we will fail, He knows we're not perfect.

The Bible is full of examples of people that set their hearts on the Lord, yet stumbled in their walk many times. David is described as having a heart for God, yet struggled with some pretty horrible sins. Once his sin was exposed and he was aware of it he did not make excuses or dwell in it, he simply repented, asked for forgiveness, got back on his feet and started moving towards God again. Peter, one of the most well-known disciples of Jesus, as he was walking on the water towards Jesus began to falter in his faith and to sink beneath the water. His response was to call out to Jesus in his need and ask for help. This same Peter faltered in his faith while Jesus was being interrogated and he denied him three times as Christ said he would. Once he became aware of his behavior, he wept and I believe his heart turned towards Jesus again. Peter went on to be one of the founding members of the Christian Church and to die as a martyr for his faith.

Our God is not sitting and waiting for us to sin so that he can immediately condemn us. He is wanting to change our hearts, and to turn us into the sorts of people that choose Him over and over instead of the fleeting pleasures and sins that the world lives for. He does not expect us to be perfect, but he desires all of our hearts to be given to him completely. There is an enemy who will be there to condemn you every time you sin, and to remind you of your failures over and over, his name is Satan, do not confuse the two.