When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:6-7 NIV
When we choose leaders, be it a politician, CEO, pastor or class president, our decision, at least in part is influenced by the physical appearance of the individual. We are quickly impressed with someone we perceive as “good looking.” We tend to focus on superficial things like hair style, body type, color of skin, even how fashionably they dress. Of course we probably don’t intend to do so, and certainly don’t admit to it, but it’s part of our human nature. Search the scriptures and you’ll be hard pressed to find much fault in Samuel, but even this faithful man of God was taken by Eliab’s physical appearance and wrongly assumed he was God’s choice for king. You’d think Samuel would have realized the absurdity of his reasoning this since he had been mourning Saul’s demise and the Bible tells us that Saul was a man of impressive physical stature. Not only did Eliab appear to be physically strong, he was also the oldest, the one most experienced. From all outward appearances, he was the obvious choice, the man for the job. But he wasn’t God’s choice.
God is not impressed by our physical appearance, our experience, our age, or anything else that makes us appear like we’ve got it all together. He looks so much deeper, He looks at our hearts. God chose David because he had a heart to seek God, to know Him and to please Him. If you want to get a glimpse of David’s heart, take some time to look at the Psalms. You’ll see a heart that longed for God, that loved and trusted Him. You may not have it all together on the outside. You might not be the most experienced or the most qualified. You may be the last one anyone would pick, anyone but God that is. You see, God is not dependent upon anything we bring to the table. When He calls us to do something, He’s not counting on our strength or ability, He’s counting on our willingness to surrender to Him, to allow Him to use us and accomplish His work through us. He already has everything needed for the job.
But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’ Acts 13:22 NIV
Lauren Daigle “I will seek him first”
That song definitely applies Diane, thanks for suggesting it!
Lauren Daigle – First
insightful. Thanks !!
I spent the weekend with women who are in a Christian based rehab program in lieu of prison. At first, they appeared to have a tough exterior. As I learned more about each woman, I witnessed a transformation in my mind’s eye. They are beautiful, inside and out. It reminds me of how God sees his children, created in His image.