Good Morning Friends,
After rejecting Saul God sent Samuel to anoint
the man who would become king upon Saul’s death. God led Samuel to Bethlehem,
to the family of Jesse to anoint one of his sons as king. God promised Samuel, “I
will show you what to do.” (1 Samuel 16:3)
Samuel was immediately impressed with Jesse’s
oldest son, Eliab. He said, “Surely the Lord's anointed stands here before the
Lord." The Lord replied to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or
his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man
looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the
heart." (1 Samuel 16:6-7)
God and man have different ideas about what is
impressive! Consider the men and women the world admires. The men carry
themselves with confidence, they exude leadership, they have style, and they
are handsome. Outward appearance is the defining feature of women who are
admired by the world. Beauty attracts the world. God is much less concerned
about what a person looks like, about outward characteristics. He is much more
interested in what it going on inside the person’s heart. Character matters
most to God!
Samuel looked at the seven oldest sons of Jesse
and none of them was chosen by God to be king. Samuel asked if there was
another and Jesse indicated that only the youngest remained. He was out in the
fields taking care of his father’s sheep. When young David arrived before
Samuel, the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; he is the one.” (1 Samuel 16:12) When
Samuel had anointed David, the scripture says, “And from that day the Spirit of
the Lord came upon David in power.” (1 Samuel 16:13)
God had identified the next king. Not a tall,
powerful, man of impressive physical features, but one whose heart was right
before Him. That’s the kind of person God calls to leadership for Him. That’s
the kind of person we should seek when we look for leaders to follow. Outward
appearances can be deceiving, it’s the heart that matters – it matters to God and
it should matter to us, too. Character counts most!
His, by Grace, Steve
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