"Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen these.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the children?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.” (1 Samuel 16:10-11)
When reading the biblical account of God sending Samuel to Bethlehem to anoint a king to replace Saul, I'm fascinated by the fact that Samuel is ready to anoint the first of Jesse's sons based on his appearance. After all, Saul was tall and handsome and look how that turned out.
But God stops Samuel with these words, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
Samuel wasn't the only one impressed with physical prowess. Jesse brought all of his sons before Samuel, except David. It appears from the text that David's father considered him insignificant, not including him in the feast or the sacrifice. And when Jesse referred to David, he called him "the youngest", failing to call him by his name. Sometimes in our own family we can be overlooked and discounted. The message we receive either directly or indirectly is that we don't measure up.
If that's been your experience, remember that God is a Father who is most interested in your heart. If it's devoted to Him, He will use you in ways you never imagined. No matter what anyone else thinks, even your own family.
Today's music video Your Heart (David) by Chris Tomlin speaks to David's life and a call to have a heart that looks like God's heart. We should all pray to have a heart that looks like our Heavenly Father's heart.
I love you, I'm thinking of you, and I'm praying for you.
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