Focus: 1 Samuel 16:7 – KJV 7. But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
1 Samuel 16:1-13
Many times, we, as men are wont to look at the outward presentation of other men to determine who they are and what they carry. For instance, we have seen men who ordinarily appear critically insane but carry so much grace to preach the word of God or be some vessel in the hands of God for the elect. A man of God once told the story of how he was running late for a service and while in traffic, an “insane” man cleared the way for him to go. If someone met the man ordinarily, it is not certain he would have looked at him twice because of his appearance. Indeed, some would have just not allowed him to display “his madness” in clearing the way. That is judging the book by its cover. Some books come in hard back with beautiful tapestry but empty in the inside. It is upon buying it off the shelf, that they are found empty. Hence, the Lord is directing us from today not to be hasty in jumping into conclusion about people, whether good or bad, just by seeing them or first meeting them.
There are many people who carry underneath their cloaks a myriad of undisclosable issues. Even though we do not see them ordinarily and look at just their cloak and appearance to judge them, if we lean more on the Holy Spirit, He will reveal to us hidden things in aid of our decisions. It happened to the great prophet Samuel in Jesse’s home. The Lord had directed him to go and appoint a replacement king for Saul amongst Jesse’s sons. Like the ordinary mind, having a precedent in Saul, since the Lord appointed him Himself, Samuel was looking for similar features like Saul had. Incidentally, the failure of Saul should have cautioned him that the Lord was not likely to be looking for a failure to replace a failure. But here he was, wanting to anoint tall, soldier-built Eliab as king. Thank God for the Holy Spirit that was with him, Samuel would have bought a wrong fearsome and empty book from the shelf in Jesse’s house. Let us also seek always the mind of God before concluding about any personality as we walk through life.
May the Lord always be our Guide in all our relationships so that we may never fall prey of the enemy in our choices in Jesus’ name. All bad choices we had made in times past that have caused a downturn and regrets, may the Lord by His mercy turn things around in our favor, as we lean on Him going forward, in Jesus’ name. And if by chance, we are still keeping any seemingly valuable “book” which is nevertheless valueless, in any of our relationships, may the Lord reveal the same to us and give us the wisdom to re-appraise and redefine our position, in Jesus’ name.
SOLUTION: Slow and steady wins the race of life. Anything done in haste is almost invariably imperfect. Ensure to put your trust in the Holy Spirit for your choices. He knows all things and can reveal hidden secrets to the chagrin of the concealer.
If you are blessed by this post, kindly share with your contacts, as well as others, that they may be blessed also. Thank you and may God bless you abundantly as you do so, in Jesus’ name.
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