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7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

1 Samuel 16: 7

Prayer

Lord, we need Thee every hour. You are the one who gives us truth. We repent from relying on this world to give us what only You can give. We thank You for seeing hearts and not just appearances that are often misleading. Thank You for teaching us so much through king David in the book of 1 Samuel. Give us the grace we need to be Your faithful followers. You are what we need to see. You are what we need to live. Be with those who are blind today to give them sight for the kingdom of heaven.

In Jesus's name we pray. Amen.

Look at the Heart

In 1 Samuel 16, God sends Samuel to anoint the new king of Israel and tells him that the new king will be from Jesse the Bethlehemite. The current king, Saul, has disobeyed God, and his kingship is coming to an end.

When Samuel goes to find the new king among Jesse’s sons, he is surprised—and so are we—by what happens next. The first son that Samuel sees is Eliab, and he thinks to himself, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him.” Meaning, this is the obvious pick—look at this guy! A natural-born leader: strong, wise, a man of God, ready to be a leader of men.

But God tells Samuel that he is wrong. While Samuel is looking at outward appearances, God looks at the heart. Samuel goes through all of Jesse’s sons and still has not found God’s anointed one. “Do you have any other sons by chance?” Samuel asks. Jesse responds, saying, “Well, there is the youngest. He is out keeping the sheep.”

We know the rest of the story—that this youngest son, who was just a shepherd boy, was in fact David. This passage today is a great reminder for us to connect to the Spirit of God and not our own opinions based on outward appearances. Who could use God’s help through you today? Or who can help you? It might not be who you expect just by looking at them.