After God's Own Heart

You know David as the kid with the sling. Maybe as the king with the songs. But the Bible calls him something stranger and better: a man after God's own heart — and it calls him that about the whole story, the giant and the adultery, the throne and the apology. If God could say that about a life with chapters like David's, there's hope for a life like yours.

After God's Own Heart: David's Whole Story for Teens tells that whole story in three movements. First, the shepherd king: overlooked in the field, the giant killer, Jonathan the best friend, and the long years hiding in a cave. Then, the long road: crowned at last, the dancing king, "Who am I?" — and the ease that set up the fall. Finally, broken and restored: the fall itself, Nathan's "You are the man," the broken song of Psalm 51, and what "after His own heart" actually means — not perfection, but a man who always came back.

Every chapter — about ten minutes long — opens with Scripture and ends with one move to make this week. Three words carry the book: Anointed. Broken. Restored. It begins with God's verdict on the overlooked shepherd: "the LORD looks on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). And when the book reaches David's hidden sin, it points the same way David eventually went: tell God, tell one safe person — a pastor, counselor, trusted adult — because silence wastes and truth heals.

Written from a Christian worldview — Scripture first.

More from Kimani Upshur: https://upshurunlimitedllc.com