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What Catches God's Eye
Jon Burgess"But now your kingdom will not endure; theLordhas sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept theLord’s command.” 1 Samuel 13:14
This verse stopped me in my tracks this morning. David had already been appointed King in God's heart because he was a man after God's heart. Before David was even remotely aware of God's designs for him God had designated him the next King. It's highly probable that while Samuel was confronting King Saul David was caring for Jesse's sheep. While Saul was unwilling to wait on God's timing in the field of battle, David was taking time to pray and worship the Lord out in the sheep field. The Lord sought out a man who sought out him. Before David was ever anointed to be King, he was appointed to be King. Before David was appointed to be King it appeared nothing was happening. Before David was appointed to be King he was simply a man seeking the will of His God. David's name was on the Lord's lips because the Name of the Lord was on David's lips. David probably felt a million miles away from the center of the action and yet his humble actions were at the center of God's attention. David never saw this coming and yet Samuel would soon be coming to anoint him, King. Saul stood head and shoulders above the men and sought the approval of man. This is why he was not willing to wait for Samuel's arrival. Saul was the one that Israel chose because he had the looks. David was the one God chose because he was looking towards Him. Three chapters later the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7
We know that we aren't supposed to judge a book by its cover, but in a culture where appearance is everything, we all tend to do it anyway. We look at the appearance of a person and determine in seconds whether that person is of worth or is worthless. A clean-cut man in a three-piece suit stepping out of BMW at the valet in front of the nicest restaurant in town- that's a good man, that man is a success. A disheveled, slightly overweight man scurrying to get the keys so as not to make this man wait too long and to hopefully earn a tip- that man's a loser, not going to spend time getting to know him. We wish we weren't this shallow. We want to think that we think of others at a higher level, but mostly we don't. God wants us to think at a heart level. Believe it or not, in this scenario I just mentioned, the valet is David and the suit is Saul. Why do we need to grasp this? Why do we need to see beyond appearances? Because God's plans for us and those are not skin deep. They are soul deep. They are still unraveling around us. If we judge our current circumstances by what we see then we are no better then Saul who is tired of waiting on God and takes matters into his own hands. If we see from the heart level rather then the head level we begin to see at heaven's level. For example, it may appear that wherever the action is you are at the place it's furthest from, but don't be discouraged. As you seek the Lord out the Lord is seeking you out. You have been appointed and anointed to accomplish great things even if appearances are telling you different.
Lord, help me to look past the book cover and see the words you are writing in the hearts of those around me. Forgive me for sizing people up, labeling them, categorizing hopeless situations based on what I see rather then what You see. Let me move past the head level. Let see Your heart for those around me. Let me not get caught up in appearances and instead get caught up with You. Forgive me for being like Saul when it comes to waiting on Your timing. There are some things that are seeming to take "forever" but that's just because I'm not seeing things from the level of heaven. What catches Your eye is a heart after You. So, I'm chasing after You today!
