16:6-7 “When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.’ 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.’”
17:18 “Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left the few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”
Samuel saw Eliab in the 1st excerpt and thought that surely he would be God’s choice for the next king of Israel. On the surface, he appeared to have it all together. God tells Samuel that Eliab is not his choice, telling Samuel that although man judges based on appearances, God sees people’s hearts. Later on in chapter 17 Eliab again enters the picture, chastising David for his eagerness to go fight, questioning David’s heart and his motives.
While I’m sure I often judge others based on their appearance, my thoughts today go to myself. How often do I judge myself based on how I perceive myself? I remember past mistakes and regrets and feel like a failure. I look at current accomplishments and deem myself a success. The value I attribute myself is always linked to a performance metric of some sort or another. But God doesn’t see that. He doesn’t see my failure of yesterday (or even today) nor does he see my past or present success. He sees my heart. My heart burns for Him, it longs for deeper fellowship with Him. My heart pursues Him.
My prayer is that I would see myself as Christ sees me. Not through the filter of the world, not through the filter of condemnation and not through the filter of pride. Let me see myself from God’s point of view. Let Him expose the areas that need change and spur my relationship with Him to greater heights..
