Daily Verse Devo - 1 Samuel 16:7

"But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

-1 Samuel 16:7 (NLT)

After the time of the judges, the Israelites begged for a king. Saul was chosen. He had humble beginnings and at first served the Lord, but the latter part of his life was marked by rebellion against God and jealousy.

In this chapter, God has charged Samuel with the task of finding a new king. The Lord leads him to the house of Jesse, who has eight sons. Samuel starts with the oldest, strongest looking son of the bunch, but God tells him he won't be the next king. Samuel keeps going down the row but none of the seven present are God's choice. Finally, Samuel asks Jesse if he has any other sons and he sends out for his youngest, David, who was watching the sheep. God affirms that David is His choice for king.

What I love most about this passage is that God doesn't see people the way we do.

I think we put so much pressure on ourselves trying to have the perfect body, perfect clothes, perfect hair, when that's not what truly defines us.

I don't think David was ugly. 1 Samuel 17:42 describes him as "ruddy and handsome in appearance". Compared to his brothers, he was probably short and scrawny. But the point is that God doesn't judge us based on our physical attributes or how well we meet or don't meet societal standards.

David's eldest brother had the "look" of a king in Samuel's mind. Saul was described as being heads and shoulders above the other men in Israel. But God was looking at the heart.

It's impossible for us to always know someone's motives. We may have an idea of why someone does what they do, but we don't always know the full situation.

Judging is a horrible habit of mine. It's so easy to assume things about someone without knowing all the facts. But every time I do that, God proves me wrong.

I remember one day in an online Christian club, I thought a guy was weird based off his profile description. When the club broke into small groups, we ended up in the same group. I learned that he was not the way I thought at all.

I just want to encourage you that you are loved and valued by God. Other people may judge you and have bad thoughts, but God doesn't. He knows exactly what your dealing with and what your heart desires.

This verse is also an encouragement for us to stop judging people. Boy, do I need to work on this!

While we can't see inside people's hearts, God can. Praying for His wisdom and striving to see people through God's eyes can help us avoid making false judgments. It's a blessing to put aside presuppositions and see people for who they really are.

#judging #heart #appearance