God Looks At The Heart

May 16

I Samuel 16-17

Psalm 60:6-12

Proverbs 13:22-23

John 6

God Looks At The Heart

“But God said to Samuel, ‘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 Yahweh looks at the heart.”  I Samuel 16:7 LSB

There are many instances in the Bible where God chooses people to use in mighty ways that men would have overlooked.  In this passage, God sent Samuel to Jesse’s household to anoint the king.  Jesse brought his sons out to Samuel, but none of them was God’s choice.  Jesse had another son, the youngest, who was out tending sheep in the fields.  Jesse thought that surely one of his older sons would be the one, not David, the young shepherd.  God wasn’t concerned about his age, his physical appearance, his stature or even his abilities. God was looking at his heart.  He wanted someone with a gentle, humble heart that would trust and obey.  God chose Joseph, the eleventh son of Jacob to be the one He would send to Egypt to deliver His people during the famine.  He chose Gideon, one of the weakest men from the smallest tribe, to lead the Israelites in battle against the Midianites.  He chose Mary, a poor, teenaged girl from a small town in Israel to be the mother of Jesus.  Jesus chose a group of fishermen, a tax collector and other ordinary men with little education or social position to be His disciples who would spread the gospel throughout the world.  And God chose Paul, who had persecuted Christians, to be the one who would share the good news about Jesus to the Gentiles.  God used the youngest, the weakest, the most unqualified and sometimes the ones who had been the most sinful to accomplish His purposes. 

I have often heard that God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called.  God doesn’t need our skills and abilities to accomplish His plans.  Actually, our strengths can be a deterrent.  The areas in our lives where we feel confident in our abilities are the ones where we are likely to take the credit and not give the glory to God or rely on our own strength rather than God’s.  When we feel weak and we are out of our comfort zone, we are more likely to recognize that it was God’s power and strength that was at work.  God does not look around for someone who has the skill set He needs to carry out His plans.  He doesn’t need us, but He graciously chooses to allow us to participate in His work on earth.  He is looking for someone who is humble and trusts Him and then He provides us everything we need to do what He calls us to do.  We cannot take the credit for anything He accomplishes through us, we can just thank Him for the privilege of serving Him.  When we are evaluating people, we would do well to use God’s standards instead of being impressed with outward characteristics.  Physical appearance, socioeconomic status, talents, and abilities are not nearly as important as humility, teachability, and faith in God.