“God Saw More”

Tuesday, April 08, 2025

BIBLE READING: 1 Samuel 16

“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)

David was an afterthought in his family, relegated to the job nobody wanted: keeping sheep. It was an important yet very humble position. Shepherding did not draw attention to someone, but positioned someone to lead, provide and serve as a normative expectation. David kept sheep and he took this job seriously when nobody was looking. Day after day he was with the sheep, doing what was necessary for their good, and he was responsible (1 Samuel 17.20). He didn’t complain about his role or try to pawn it off on another brother. He was responsible with what he had been given, taking necessary measures to protect what had been entrusted to him (17.37).

David was on nobody’s radar to be a person of import, and yet God chose him to be the next king. He appears in the story as an intentional contrast to Saul, who looked and played the part of king everyone expected. But God saw more to David than anyone else could see, and it was his intangible qualities that made him a man after God’s own heart.

Some thoughts for us to consider:

• Be careful how you judge others. It is not those who look the part that will always work in your best interest. “Judge with righteous judgment” (John 7.24), Jesus would say. In other words learn to see others as God sees them and not simply by what seems best to us. On the other side of that coin, don’t write someone off because they aren’t what you expect. Consider Luke 7.44-47. God cares about the heart, and it takes time for you to see that in a person.
• Consider what God sees in you. He is not concerned with your social status. He doesn’t care what others say about you, or how well you play the part. Before him, we are “naked, exposed” (Hebrews 4.13). God is concerned with your heart and what you are becoming. David was not a proven warrior, but God had prepared him for the moment (1 Samuel 17.34-37). In the same way, we will face no situation we can’t manage and overcome by the grace of God (1 Corinthians 10.13; 2 Corinthians 1.9; 12.9-10).

At first glance Saul should have been the success story; but it is David’s intangible qualities that put him in the spotlight and propelled him to success. Although imperfect throughout his life, David’s heart was aligned with the LORD (1 Samuel 13.14). No one could see that except God; but God would elevate David and his kingdom eternally because of these things.

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