“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 16:7
In 1 Samuel 16, I’m going to paint a picture of how I see this story: The great prophet Samuel is called by God to find a king for Israel. God instructs him to travel to Jesse’s house in Bethlehem, where his eight sons live. Jesse is a powerful man whose eldest sons went to war and his youngest, David, was tending sheep for 11 years. Samuel invites Jesse and his sons to dine with him, and Jesse presents his eldest son Eliab as a possible king. He’s tall, handsome, charismatic, buff, with long hair and an awesome beard. Samuel thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” But God said no, not him. Six more manly sons are presented, but receive the same response. The Lord does not look at the outward appearance; he looks at the heart. Ultimately God chose David, the youngest, to be king of Israel. He is known to us as a man after God’s own heart and one who did what was right in God’s eyes. The heart is not in the feelings, it’s in the actions. In spite of how you feel, it’s all about what you do. Friend, the heart is metaphorically the location of the will. It’s what you choose and decide to do. It’s not about your emotions, it’s your will. This is an important characteristic of the word “heart” that’s used so often in the Bible. When God talks about your heart, He wants to know what you will actually do regardless of temptation, depression, boredom, or fear. Will you still do what is right? Are you still going to push through? |
Prayer
Father, show me how to push through and do what is right.
Reflection
In what ways do you align yourself with God’s heart?
If you’re unable to attend your local church or need some additional weekly inspiration, be sure to tune into Hour of Power every Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. PT on TBN or watch online at hourofpower.org/episode.
One Response
Dear Bobby,
I would like to thank you for your devotions, especially the one for today. It does’nt matter how tall and powerful a man is. The most important thing is to be a man after God’s own hard. David is called like that. I came to the lord in the 1970ies, and you certainly can imagine that often things went wrong very far away from God’s heart. Would you pray for me that I turn back to the first love and get a man after God’s own hart?
Thank you. Kind regards. God may bless you and take care of you.
Christian from Switzerland.