| Photo by Marino Linic on Unsplash
God does not judge people the same way that people judge them. We see this in 1 Samuel 16! When God rejected Saul as King because of his sin, God told Samuel to go and anoint the next king of Israel.
God tells Samuel to bring the oil and a sacrifice and go to Bethlehem and look for a man named Jesse, for I have selected one of his sons to be the next king. Samuel does what the Lord asks, and he goes. He finds Jesse and tells him to bring his sons to the sacrifice. He brings all but one of the boys because he cares for the sheep.
When Samuel looks over the sons of Jesse, we read in 1 Samuel 16: 7-8, “When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!” But the Lord told Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
People are quick to judge others and form opinions of others very quickly. We judge people based on external factors, such as their looks, height, weight, personality, clothes, etc. But God does not look at the external; God looks at the heart! God looks at what makes us who we are.
People will judge us, evaluate us, make decisions about us and not like us, reject us, and avoid us in this life. But God judges our hearts and knows the real us, and He still loves us, calls us, and uses us for His kingdom!
Lord, help me remember that You are the One who saved, called, and loves me! Help me live to please You and You alone because You know the real me!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Pastor Ronald Squibb has been the International Christian Church (ICC) Lead Senior Pastor at Staten Island, New York, since 2011. He draws many experiences from his over 40 years as a pastor and significant emotional life experiences.
His new book, Following the Journey with Jesus, which he co-authored with Daniel McNaughton, was recently published and is getting rave reviews. His daily devotional appears in this publication.